Taking a Shot
by luvyourspirit
Summary: AU. Rory is trying to put her life together after her third break-up with Dean. Decided to do something crazy for a change, she meets a certain blonde at a party. She didn't expect him to be friends with her best friend, Jess.
1. Chapter 1 - A Direct Hit

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girs. if I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Welcome to my new story! I hope you have a great time! This idea popped into my head many months ago, but I decided to finish my old story before committing to a new project (One day, I hope to finish "A Light in a Life" as well. Let's believe so.)

This is a story set in Yale, at some point in season 5. No new characters, just a story about Rory, Logan and Jess.

I haven't made a long plan for this story yet, so please review and tell me if you think this story is interesting enough to have a next chapter

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**CHAPTER 1 – A DIRECT HIT**

* * *

_"What am I doing here, Rory?_

_I don't belong here. Not anymore. _

_Do I?"_

These were the last words.

* * *

_"Hi, I'm not home right now but my answering machine is, so you can talk to it instead. Wait for the beep."_

Rory walked past the bed and picked up the phone. She erased all her messages without really listening to them. It didn't matter. There had been no messages from _him_ anyway, and that was message enough.

It had been two weeks since Dean had last called her. Since the fateful day he'd broke up with her, apparently for good this time.

All in all, she admitted, she wasn't handling this very well. Hell, who was she trying to kidding? She was handling it horribly. Eating-ice-cream-all-day horribly. She-could-have-sworn-she-had-already reduced-the-size-of-the-cloth-to-first-size kind of horribly.

But she couldn't stay in bed forever. Not today. Today was _back to school,_ first day.

Trying to get away from the shame of staying in Stars Hollow after being recently dumped by her _married_ ex-boyfriend, she anticipated her return to the college dormitory. Staying in campus by herself for a couple of weeks didn't sound that bad compared to that. She wanted to be alone. Well, no. She didn't want to be alone. She just didn't want to hear whatever it was anybody had to say.

She slipped from under the covers and padded over to the bathroom, resisting the temptation to check her messages again. She opened her wardrobe and contemplated it for a few minutes. Whenever she felt like this she struggled to find something to wear, especially when she hadn't washed a single piece of clothing for the last three weeks.  
_  
Who cares?_ She was dying from the inside. It's not like she would run into something interesting that day anyway. Anything would fit fine. She slipped into a simple cotton dress and tied her hair back with a band.

She stuffed her purse with things that might be useful and a very heavy book, which would probably be her loyal best friend for a long time.

She didn't bother to check if Paris had come back to their dorm. As far as she remembered, Paris was still people. And it was part of the kind she couldn't tolerate any less at that particular moment.

* * *

Between boring classrooms and people hugging in the hallways, Rory thanked the Lord for finally being able to open her book in the dining hall and enjoy some peace.

She was so tired of hearing people talk about their supposedly great summers that she couldn't help but wonder if she was the only miserable person in a 10 square mile radius.

She tried to hide her face with the book as her former roommate, Janet, approached. Not that she had anything against Janet, but she wasn't exactly a people-person at the time. "Hey, Rory!"

She plastered the best fake smile on her face. "Hi Janet."

"How was your Summer?" Sure, there was the infamous question. She couldn't tell her the truth without melting her ears off. Of course, no one was to blame for her problems either. Lying was probably her best option. "It was great... How was yours?"

"Wonderful. I met a guy and we've been dating for a month now."

"Oh..." Rory pretended to be happy for her friend, but seriously, kill her now. "That's great."

"I know. I'm so happy! Hey, maybe we should go on a double date sometime? With you and Dean. We would finally have another couple to hang out with." Janet spoke excitedly, but Rory's smile quickly died on her face. "Oh... Actually Dean and I broke up."

"Oh...I'm so sorry." Noticing her dismay, Janet didn't say what she was thinking, and the moment passed, leaving an awkward silence between them. "But that's ok! You will find someone else."

Yeah, that was what people always said to losers. "Yeah, thanks."

"I've heard we'll be having a big party for the freshmen on the campus. Several new meets and of course; Yale's most eligible bachelors. I think you should come."

Rory controlled herself not to roll her eyes, but damn that conversation was annoying. And Janet's kind of guys? No thanks! Rory wasn't interested in dating jocks or frat boys. She would be wearing animal print clothing before that happened. "Thanks, I'll think about it."

Janet left the table with a smile on her satisfied face. Little did she know that Rory was a boy repellent. Or at least she felt that way. Dean had broken up with her over and over again. Jess had fled away without any explanation. At least the first time.

She could give Jess a pass though. Since he came back into her life, they became great friends. Best friends. She even thought about giving him a call — to ask him if he wanted to hang out sometime, but dropped the idea. He was often too busy working on his new book.

There were no other options left than going back to her dorm and opening the next ice cream tub.

* * *

"Oh my God! Paris, what is that stench?" Rory shouted over her shoulders and covered her nose. "I'm cooking." Her voice trailed down the hallway until it was cut short by Rory's shriek. "Human flesh?"

She didn't wait for her roommate's answer. She raced up to her room and slammed the door hard. Now she had noticed Paris's presence. And along with her came the most stinky food she ever smelled. Seriously, she attempted to keep the smell to get into her room, but it was definitely overpowering the space.

She couldn't spend the night in that dorm.

She sat up on bed running her fingers through her hair and remembered what Janet had said. No way. She couldn't go to a party. She wasn't in the mood for a party. She was still dealing with an unexpected breakup. She'd been looking forward to Saturday because she fully intended to remain in her pajamas until Sunday.

Even if she was, Rory Gilmore didn't attend parties that went long into the night, didn't linger at dances until you were exhausted and didn't indulge in too much rich food and wine that kept you up all night.

Even though, she looked out the window. The moonlight streamed into the eastern window showed her happy people, smiling. She had tried this lifestyle for a long time now, but she wasn't happy. Should she insist on the same attitude and expect different results? No. That night would take an unexpected turn. She got up and pulled out a dress from the very back of the closet, seized it and held it against herself.

Rory decided not to overthink. She was tired of moping around, tired of feeling sorry for herself, tired of missing Dean. She didn't want to think about him anymore, so she decided to do her own thing. Every activity was welcome and seemed pleasant and comforting compared to thinking about him one minute longer.

If all went wrong, she still had her book.

* * *

"Nerd."

"Hideous noise."

"Probably a virgin."

"Not a redhead."

The party playboys were looking for insignificant flaws in the girls they weren't interested in. Or in those they didn't want to sleep with again. The truth was they were tired of those incestuous college parties. They wanted to live for the real action.

"I give up. Logan, this party is lame. I think we should go right now and rock some pub."

"Nah! I'm sure we don't want to miss this." Still leaning with his back against the rail, Logan raised the bottle, addressing the gang.

Logan Huntzberger had built his reputation by being the biggest playboy of Yale and probably from all Hartford elite society. Lord have mercy, but the pictures didn't do him justice.

Money, parties and fun were all he was looking for. The same could be said for girls — once he had a target in mind, he went for her until he scored.

Even though tonight was a target-rich environment, and more than a handful of the sexy girls who'd come tonight were giving him the once-over, he hadn't set his mind on anyone during the few hours he'd been there. Which was unusual for him. He liked the ladies. The ladies liked him. No ego on his part; he just enjoyed women, and he loved being around them. They were sweet, fun to be with, smelled great, and made him feel good. There was nothing bad about that. In return, he showed them a good time, spent money on them, and never lied to them or tried to be anything other than who he was.

He was little wild and reckless, but he wasn't dishonest. He never promised a girl anything he wasn't willing to deliver.

Which meant steering clear of girls looking to hook a boyfriend, or any kind of commitment. He gravitated toward the party girls, like the hot blonde and the statuesque redhead who'd been hovering near his radar all night.

Those were the women who wanted to have the same kind of no-strings-attached fun he did. It was only a matter of time before he went in for the kill. After all, the hunt was part of the fun. All the circling, eyeing, and flirting was a game. He did love the game—and he played the game to win.

Part of that fun was to figure them out. Figure out what brought them here. The blonde and the redhead were definitely good-time girls. He could tell by the body language and the looks they gave him. They wanted a lot more than a few drinks.

Easy score, for sure. So why did his focus keep drifting to the cool brunette sitting by herself at a table in the corner? She wasn't his type at all. She wasn't wearing a skintight dress that showed ample amounts of skin. She wore a simple, black short-sleeved dress that fell to her knees. Though she did have killer legs—legs he'd like to see a lot more of. She just wasn't showing off her assets.

So why does a girl come to that kind of gathering to open a huge kind of boring book?

Maybe she was related to someone of the party, but he hadn't seen anyone come within ten feet of the table in the past two hours. She was no wallflower, but she wasn't giving off vibes that said, '_come talk to me'_ either.

There were plenty of women here to have the kind of fun he was looking for, and the brunette wasn't the right type. He could tell from the rigid set of her shoulders and the _stick-up-her-ass_ _way_ she sat that she wasn't a partier.

She surveyed the room and gave off definite '_keep away from me'_ signals, which was likely why no one approached her. Still, his gaze kept gravitating back to her.

He hated seeing anyone sitting alone. He went up to the bar and nudged Colin, one of his best friends. Colin turned, then nodded. "Hey! What's up?"

"Do you have any idea who is that girl sitting by herself over in the corner?" Colin followed the motion of Logan's head, then frowned. "No. I have no idea. But she looks mean."

Logan laughed. "That's what I thought, too. Either way, she's the girl going home with me tonight."

He should ignore her and concentrate on the two other women at his mercy. But for some reason, she kept grabbing his attention and wouldn't let go. Maybe it was because she kept staring at him. Not in the way other women looked at him—the take-me-home-with-you-tonight plea. Her gaze was cool and assessing. An occasional brief glance and then she'd look away, like she wasn't at all interested in him.

Oh, she must be interested. They all were. So maybe she was a game player after all, and this was a new kind of game. He pushed off the bar and headed her way. She could throw off all the stay-away signals she wanted, but he was curious now. Someone that beautiful was alone for a reason. He stopped at her table and her gaze lifted, slowly assessing him.

She didn't smile, but she didn't frown, either.

"You're here alone?" He asked, flashing his unmistakable dazzling bright smile, but she didn't look impressed. "As you can see, I am."

Unfamiliar accent. Right, it fit her. She was all peaches-and-cream complexion, smooth skin, full lips, and the prettiest eyes— the color of the sky.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help to notice you're here reading this book alone and not talking to anyone."

"Yeah, the voices in my head are enough." She answered him acidly, hoping it would be sufficient to make him leave. "Oh, thank God! I thought I was the only one to hear it." He quipped so quickly that she couldn't hide her surprise.

Just like that, she averted her eyes from her book for the first time to stare at his face. "What?" She was pleasantly surprised by his sense of humor. Indeed, appearances are deceptive, but wittiness are not.

Her eyes lingered for a second as her mind registered the fact that this guy was charming, and smart, and it would be easy to like him. Maybe like him a lot. Except she wasn't totally sold on his arrogant swagger.

Logan smiled, displaying perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. This girl had a weird sense of humor. Which meant that a mediocre conversation wouldn't be enough to take her home with him. He would have to use his best game. Good, he could face some challenge for a change.

He slid his hand out and offered it to her. "I'm Logan. Can I sit down?"

She slipped her hand in his and finally gave him a smile — the kind of smile that made a man glad to be a man. "Be my guest."

Bingo.

* * *

**A/N: **Don't forget to tell me what you think. Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2- Wolf, But Not In Sheep's Clot

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girs. if I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Two friday updates in a row? We got it! Let's keep weekly traditions? I wanna know if you guys are ok with it.

First of all, I thank you all for welcoming this story so nicely! Your positive and loving reactions means so much to me.

As I said earlier, I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do with this story, but I would like to clarify some points.

This is not a story about how Rory falls in love with Logan and breaks Jess's heart. Rory and Logan are the main couple in this story, yes, but I don't feel like vilifying Jess as a character. I feel like writing a story where Jess moves on from Rory, learns how to accept his friends as a couple and their friendship is strong. I think the three of them deserved a better ending.

Now, this chapter talks about a confused Rory. She's having second thoughts about her life style and kind of wishing she'd take some risks. Let's see her taking a shot for the first time.

Please, review!

**Warning:** Possible **M** content ahead!

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**CHAPTER 2 – WOLF, BUT NOT IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING.**

* * *

A speechless Rory watched the blonde move the nearby chair and take a place right across of her.

She wasn't used to being the center of attention, but judging the way prying eyes were turning to the unlikely pair and the way he smiled, she could tell he was used to being talked about.

She could see how some girls might be attracted to him, but she hadn't understood why he was such a hot commodity.

Sure, he was cute. No, now she was really paying attention to him, she'd like to change her opinion, from cute, to very good looking. He had charisma, a way of looking at a woman that would make her drop her panties faster than he could flash that unusual smile.

There was a certain presence to him. Arrogance, maybe. She was surprised when she hadn't found him commanding the room, involved in a brawl or wrapped around two or three women in a dark corner. But she'd reserve judgment until she got to know him better. Whom she was kidding? She was judging.

"So, why are you sitting here all alone?"

"I'm observing." He cocked a brow, his defenses obviously up, as he leaned forward on the edge of the chair like he was ready to take flight. "You don't work for my father. Do you?"

She smiled at him. "No. I don't."

He relaxed and leaned back against the chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "Okay, then."

"I take it you don't like people who work for your father."

"Nope."

"Or you don't like your father?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that later, but I don't want to talk about me. Let's talk about you. You have a beautiful sweet subtle accent. Where are you from?"

Not at all what she was expecting. That he was an egomaniac, who would start talking about his family's influence, make every conversation centered on him, his stats, etc.

"I'm not originally from Hartford." He smiled when she didn't offer any more information. He had an amazing, off-kilter smile that made her stomach flutter. That was awkward. She didn't know why the hell she was intimidated.

He might be flirting but she was here to have a break. "Do you want me to guess?" He asked.

"Not at all. I'm from Stars Hollow."

"A lady of mystery. I like that. But that hardly seems like a real town. Especially for someone like you."

"And what kind of city you think should I be from?"

"You seem perfectly bred for the south, obviously. All southern-refined, laid-back beauty. Not here." He was certainly a smooth talker.

"It is a real town."

"Maybe you should take me there someday."

Yeah, like she would ever set her foot there again. "Right. Probably none of us will remember this conversation tomorrow."

He rose his eyebrows. "I like where this is going."

"I mean," She tried to correct herself. "I'll probably never see you again in my life."

"I got a feeling you're wrong about that."

When he looked at her it was as if everyone else in the room fell away and she was the only woman on earth. Which she knew wasn't true, because she noticed there were at least twenty women focused on him as if they were a starving pack of wolves and he was meat.

"Look, Logan, right? I feel like reading my book tonight, so why won't you go hit on that girl." She pointed at some girl who was being loud and obnoxious, putting napkins on her head because apparently that was funny. "I'm not here to hook up; I'm here to have a break. I just wanted to go out a little. Maybe you have a better shot with her."

He gave the girl a once over and raised an eyebrow. "No, I know her. I'd probably just want to get in her pants."

"Well, did you get in her pants before?"

"No, but I decided it wouldn't be fair to her when I got this feeling I'd really like you. "

She close her book a little abruptly. The first sign of annoyance leaking out. "So you already really like me or you just want to get in my pants?"

"I almost really like you, but I want to get in your pants too."

"There is only one way you are going to get in my pants."

Her suggestion piqued his interest. "How?"

She gestured for him to come closer and spoke so that only he could hear her. "I'll make a deal with you. If you marry me, then you can get in my pants."

He snorted. "That's like buying a car without test driving it."

"I got a feeling you already have a car."

"Yes, do you wanna go for a ride?"

"No, thanks. Maybe I should head home."

"Why? It's so early! Let me buy you a drink." He tried to argue, he didn't feel like giving up that soon. He only had to set his best skills. "Do you have anything better to do?"

"I have _turning 21_ to do."

"There is no police here." He stated, taking a quick scan. "Are you telling me you never had a drink before?"

He must be bold to provoke her like that. This guy's opinion shouldn't matter at all, but somehow she didn't want him to think she was uptight. "I surely did."

"So why are you holding yourself? Like I said before, I don't think this night is coming close to an end yet."

He smiled a taunting grin over the rim of the glass as he glanced at her. She wasn't planning to play his little games, but decided to go along. Maybe having a drink wasn't a bad idea after all. She'd do that for herself, so when the bartender came over, she asked for a glass of _rosé_.

She glanced over at the boy and saw he was slanting her a look. There was an obvious glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Are you laughing about my ordering?" she asked. There was no particular reason for her to suspect that this detail was what had prompted his amusement, but she did suspect.

Evidently, she was correct. He chuckled again—a warm, husky sound that was far too sexy to be entirely fair. "It's very pink, isn't it?" He was watching as the bartender slid the glass over to her.

"Yes, it's pink. It's pretty, and I like how it tastes. My grandma likes them too. Good stuff like this gets a bad rap because of people like you. I could be equally patronizing about that ugly, disgusting stuff in your glass, but I'm not usually an asshole that way."

Logan looked down at his glass. "It's not disgusting," he said, his lips twitching irrepressibly as he took a swallow of his whiskey. "This is the good stuff."

"You only say that because snob people told you so. People like to follow the herd; I don't think I'm set for that. Not anymore at least."

To any reasonable guy, that should definitely be a cold shower, but Logan looked like he was enjoying the conversation. "Nice point."

By now, Rory was already feeling frustrated and intrigued. She didn't like the idea that this guy, no matter how full of himself he was, was smart. And apparently had a good sense of humor. If she wasn't that bummed out, she might even be attracted to him at that point.

She had used all of her weapons so far to drive him away. She no longer knew what she could do to get him to leave. She could perhaps try to put her bitterness aside for a moment and have a nice conversation. She decided it worth a shot. "Do you go to college here?"

He smirked. "Something like that."

She wasn't sure what to make of that answer. If he didn't want to tell her about his life it should be his concern. Still, if he chose to spend this night talking to her, that was what he'd get, so she might as well pursue the topic. "Of course you do. Why else would you come that far only to find a date?"

"Following your reasoning I can also assume you go to college here."

She didn't see that one coming. "Something like that."

After a few minutes, he flashed again that smile. He should be used to that by now, but somehow she wasn't.

"Glad you clarified that." He picked up the subject. "When I saw you first, I thought you might be here waiting for someone. Like a date."

"Yeah." She sighed. "I'm so out of dating - and luck - that if I had one right now, the guy would probably have looked at me and left."

"No chance." He promptly responded. His eyes were warm and admiring again. It was very clear he liked how she looked.

She wasn't used to guys being quite so open about that kind of interest—mostly because she usually hung out with nerdy types, or angry kids many of whom were socially awkward like she was. It was a heady feeling—she thought she was broken, damaged or something, but maybe she was wrong. After all, this gorgeous guy was there, thinking she was attractive. Certainly not something that happened on a regular basis.

"Trust me, this is the story of my life."

"What is?"

"What is what?"

"What's the story of your life?"

"Finally getting the courage up to take a chance and having it blow up in my face."

He chuckled, sliding off his chair and moving over so he was sitting now beside her. "I need more detail than that to fully assess your situation."

She blinked. "More detail about what?"

"The story of your life. Tell me about it." He was still relaxed, amused, slightly teasing. He was clearly having a good time without any particular investment in this conversation other than leisurely interest.

Because his attitude was so casual, she felt perfectly comfortable talking to him. She was here with half a glass of wine still to drink. She might as well pass the time in an interesting way.

"I just broke up with my boyfriend, my parents aren't getting along and, for the first time in my life, I'm having second thoughts about what I really want."

"That's interesting," he murmured, his eyes focused on her face. "But you've skipped too much information. Start from the beginning. Why did your relationship break down?"

She sighed loudly. "He thought we wanted different things."

"Such as?"

Rory sighed. "I've been preparing my whole life for this. I always dreamed of going to a great school, my mom and I had plans. He knew that, he just..." And then occurred to her. Why the hell she was telling this to a guy she didn't even know? She looked at him to check if he was stifling a yawn as she was rambling on, but to her surprise, he was there. Paying attention to each word tumbling out of her mouth. "He thought our lives had taken different ways."

"And he dumped you?"

She nodded, staring down at her wineglass. "Dropped me like a stone as soon as he could."

"Shit," Logan breathed, shaking his head. "What a jackass. It sounds like you're being too hard on yourself. I don't see how this is your fault."

The guy was a stranger. His impression of her didn't matter. At all. But she liked what she heard. "There is much you don't know though. I thought we were supposed to be together. I wish it was that simple, no drama."

He gulped his drink once more." You know you can also be with someone without all this drama."

She frowned. "Excuse me?"

He arched his eyebrows.

She couldn't help but giggle at his teasing leer. No man had the right to be quite so sexy. "Yeah, I guess."

"Yes, you can."

"Is that what you do?"

"Yes." He raised his glass to swallow down the last of his whiskey. Then he gestured to the bartender to refill his glass and hers.

"Is that all you ever have?"

"Yeah. I'm not into commitment."

"Why not?"

His mouth twisted slightly, and he didn't answer.

Genuinely fascinated now, she didn't even think about potentially being rude or pushy. She simply wanted to know more. "Why not?"

"Like you said before, I'm not set up to follow the herd."

"Ever?"

He gave his head another one of those little shakes. "Nothing is impossible, but I wouldn't count on that."

He held her eyes for a long time, and it was one of those strange moments of bonding that hit you unexpectedly—when all of a sudden you catch a glimpse of someone else's soul.

It must have hit him that way too. Or something similar. Because he reached out and put his hand lightly over hers, which was resting on the bar. His fingertips very lightly stroked over her knuckles, and the little touch sent intense shivers all through her body.

"I gotta go." She said abruptly and rushed to pick up her stuff, with the sudden urge to get out of there.

Logan blinked, confused. "Wait, why are you taking flight like this? Did I scare you somehow?"

"No, this is just a waste of time." She lied. It hurt to say something that rude to a complete stranger that had done nothing, but wanted to hear her story.

"How you're so sure? Maybe you should try it," he murmured, a husky texture in his voice that was new.

"Try what?"

"Living for the moment, riding the tide, doing what you want. Just for the night."

"Look, Logan. You really seem like a nice guy, but this is a terrible idea."

"So tell me something - if you're not interested, why won't you just reject me now and get it over with?"

"So if I just tell you to back off, will you do it right now?"

"No."

"But you just said..." He interrupted her before she could finish. "I didn't mean it, because you don't mean it. It's one thirty in the morning, you're gorgeous, you seem bright and circumstances has put you here. With me. I guess that means something about what you want."

"Geez, that's your pick up line?"

"I don't have a pick up line."

"Oh really? So you just come to girls, shake that pretty hair of yours and they start to fall on your feet?"

Rory caught the smug smile he directed at her. "Well, my hair is pretty."

"Come on. Do you really expect me to believe you don't hit on girls often?"

"No, I do. Look, it's not my pickup line, but your demeanor that counts. And I can see by the way you've been flashing me that dazzling smile the whole night, that you're interested."

She tilted her chin and tried to disguise the smirk that threatened the solemn line of her lips. "I'm not interested."

"We are still having this conversation, aren't we? You're interested. You haven't say you want me to go away yet."

"I would have said it by now, if you let me finish a damn sentence."

"I would let you talk, but I have other plans for us in the next few minutes. I'm afraid you won't have the time."

"What is going to happen in the next few minutes?"

He moved next to her. He couldn't tell if her question was genuine, but something told him now it was the time. It might have been the beautiful spark in her blue eyes, or that sultry scent that wafted from her skin, but he needed to touch her. "You have a beautiful mouth."

Her gaze snapped to his. "What?"

"Your lips." He closed the space between them and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. "I've been thinking about kissing you the whole night."

"You have? Oh, that's not good."

He smiled good naturedly. "So you're a bad kisser?"

"That's not what I meant."

"So, you're a good kisser?"

"Yes. No. Yes. I don't know."

He slid his hands along her throat. "What you're saying is - you want me to find out for myself?"

The "no" hovered, but she didn't say it. Maybe he was right; she was interested, although she would never verbally admit. She could dismiss him though, but she waited too much and then his mouth was on hers. All rational thought disappeared.

It was not a tentative or shy kiss but one of definite intent, his mouth closing over hers as thought it had a perfect right to do so.

Rory's heart was thudding but there was none of the repugnance she had been frightened she might feel as imagination became reality; instead, a sweet thrill of excitement and pleasure quivered down her spine, and her mouth responded like her body was betraying her mind.

His arms were holding her firmly but not intimidatingly as his lips moved over hers, his experience very obvious as he encouraged her gently into more intimacy.

His lips were firm and warm. The delicious smell of his expensive cologne was all about her, his body hard as he moved her further into him. For a few mesmerizing moments, Rory found herself in a strange world of sensuous delight. She had good kisses, before. She had great kisses. But this one felt… new.

Rory for sure knew it was easy to feel that way when she was in love. Love could make a simple kiss unbelievable. She didn't know she could feel exactly the same way kissing a stranger. That was weird and terrifying. Maybe because she realized that electrifying sensation running through her body wasn't feelings, it wasn't love. It was purely lust.

She had to stop this. She wasn't quite sure why, but she knew she had to. It couldn't lead anywhere; This guy was the original wolf and he wasn't even in sheep's clothing.

But she didn't want to stop. She wanted to race recklessly forward, she was feeling alive.

So she let it happen and a few seconds later she felt a hand slide down her body and jumped in surprise as if she wasn't used to getting her ass grabbed. It felt sleazy. "Wait..." She fuzzily pushed him away and shot him a confused smile. "You..." She was afraid she'd come to the right conclusion, but his face showed it all. Clouded mind, kindled lust in his eyes — and the masculine ridge snuggled next to her body had been hard to miss.

To her it was supposed to be just a kiss, she didn't take him seriously before, but now she was sure they really probably had different things in mind. "Oh..."

Her lips dropped open and she blushed like a little girl, thinking, half vexed, half confused. That didn't go unnoticed by him. He thought he had recognized it for what it was. "You've done this before, right?"

"This?" Her voice was trembled. Too trembled. "Sure!"

Not convincing enough.

"Okay, let me rephrase." He took a deep breath. He had to be reading this wrong. "The _where this is leading to _part. You've done this before, right?"

Rory frowned and held a laughter. Was he really asking her that? "Are you asking me if I'm a virgin?"

It was a little unmanning to realize he was being a complete wuss about actually saying the words, when he'd had his tongue jammed down her throat little more than a few seconds before. "Yes, I'm asking if you're a virgin."

"I'm not."

"I'm sorry to ask that, is just..."

"I understand why you might have thought that. I've just never had... A one-night stand and I was stupid enough to not understand that this is what you wanted. Until now."

"I understand if you don't want to."

Rory was a careful person. She didn't ever—ever—ride the tide and let things happen.

Never would she have considered going to bed with a man she'd just met like this. But maybe that was before.

And what would be so wrong about having a little fun, doing something just for her? "No... Maybe you're right. "

"Are you sure?" He asked again. She appreciated the fact that he backed off, waiting for her to make her decision. "Yeah... I wanna try new things and experiences. And you look like you're clean." She teased him.

He couldn't hold a laughter. "It's Friday, I took a shower."

"Shower day is Saturday."

"God, I'm starting to rethink what I'm going to find under your clothes."

"Hey..."

"I'm kidding." He came closer to her again. "You smell great."

A little grin dashed across her lips. "Really?"

"Yeah..." He tucked her hair behind her ear, rubbed her earlobe between his fingers, inhaling her scent. "... Like peaches."

"Good, because I think you'll like what you're going to find under my clothes."

* * *

Rory had consumed enough champagne to know she was inebriated, but not so much that she was drunk and unaware of what she was doing.

In other words, when this was all over, she wouldn't be able to blame this on the alcohol.

She let her bag slip onto the floor, and she asked, "Do you do this a lot?"

"Do what?"

"Ask strange girls into a hotel room for sex?"

He chuckled. He liked how direct she was. He liked that she didn't play games. He answered her honestly. "Yes."

"Have you ever slept with a prostitute?"

He shook his head.

She nodded to herself, slowly. "Have you ever slept with a man?"

He shook his head again, surprised and curious at the questions.

"How old was the oldest woman you've slept with?"

"Around thirty."

Her eyebrows arched slightly, and Logan was pleased he'd surprised her. Then she asked, "How young was the youngest?"

"When I was sixteen, I slept with a girl who was sixteen."

"What was the best sex you've ever had?"

He wondered if she was stalling with questions because she was nervous. He took a step closer to her and replied in a low voice, "I hope is going to be tonight."

Instead of responding, she giggled. "Oh, you're good."

He pulled her closer to him, drawing her into his space, feeling her body arch to his, demanding him. She was suddenly kissing him, her tongue sweeping his mouth, her groan of pleasure lightning a fire between them.

He was really getting into the kiss, his head roaring with arousal when he felt her withdraw slightly.

First, her mouth broke away from the kiss, and then, gasping softly, she took a step back.

He immediately released her, although his stomach dropped with a hard thud of disappointment and his body screamed at him to pull her against him again. "What's the matter?" He asked, as breathless as she was.

"Sorry," she said, making one of those twisting expressions that was somewhere between embarrassment and reluctance. "It was good. I don't know. I don't... know. I just got... nervous or something. I mean, I did... I do want this. It's just that you're a stranger, and..."

She met his eyes, and her expression distracted him from the hot arousal still pulsing through him.

She _was_ nervous.

She _was_ a little bit scared.

He let out a rush of air and took a step back from her. "Yeah. Sure. I get it."

"I'm sorry," she said, her face twisting even more. "I feel like an idiot."

"You shouldn't. You don't know me. And I know there are guys who... You don't know me. You can leave. Right now if you want. Or we can do something else, just..." He didn't finish the sentence since he assumed she would simply walk out.

He wouldn't blame her if she did.

She stared down at the floor and threaded her fingers together in a restless gesture. "Okay, now maybe I don't want to go."

"Really?" he asked with a jerk of his head.

With a nervous giggle, she said, "You should see your face."

"What? Did I look kind of excited?" he asked dryly, feeling strangely self-conscious. He'd had a lot of one-night stands before, and in not one of them had he felt like this. Slightly insecure, as if he were treading new territory just as she was.

"A little. I really don't mean to be wishy-washy, but I don't feel nervous anymore. So maybe..."

He could see that she was still torn, and no matter how much he wanted to have sex with her, he didn't want to have sex unless she wanted it as much as he did. He cleared his throat and said, "I don't think you're being wishy-washy. I think you're trying to decide what you want. If you want to do this, we could figure out a way to make sure you're comfortable."

She stared at him for a minute, her expression soft, almost awed. "All right," she said in a different tone. "I've made up my mind."

"Do you need the time to cool off?"

"Actually, I've done this before."

For some reason he was getting more excited than ever. Her expression was slightly shy and slightly naughty, and it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. "Not with me."

"What's the difference?"

He came up and gently spun her around kissing her neck where the skin was exposed, his hands slowly caressing her hips, her legs. "I'll let you answer this one."

She leaned back against him and made a sound in her throat. That was such a turn on.

He slid his hands over her bare shoulders and back to the zipper of her dress. Inch by agonizing inch, Rory felt the zipper move downward until the only thing holding the dress up was the fact that her body was pressed tightly against him. "I think it's time we get rid of this."

As Logan whispered in her ear he took a step back and the dress began to fall away from her body.

Determined to remain calm, she fought the unexpected urge to grab the dress and yank it back into place, and when the dress hit the floor around her ankles, she deliberately stepped out of it.

Her heart pounded an erratic rhythm as she stood there in nothing but her underwear.

He closed the space between them again and touched her breasts through the lace material. She pushed herself closer to him, her soft moans leaving him in no doubt about what she wanted. She could also tell he was turned on by her moans of pleasure, then she turned around and stuck her tongue into his mouth.

The raw desire she saw on his face as his gaze slowly and seductively slid down her body extinguished any fears and replaced them with a burning desire.

Her entire body craved his touch and she wanted nothing more than to fall into the bed behind them, wrap her body around his and satisfy her craving. With every intention of doing just that, Rory took a step toward him, but Logan reached for her first and held her in place.

Slowly his eyes traveled from her face down to her feet and then back again.

As his gaze moved over her it left a trail of pulsing excitement behind on her skin. "You're prettier than I imagined." Whether because of his compliment or the way his eyes devoured her, Rory's confidence grew stronger.

Before she could rethink her decision, she undid the tiny hooks at the back of her bra and tossed it on the floor. "And sexier too."

At the sound of Logan's sharp intake of breath she smiled. Before she could do or say anything else he closed the gap between them and scooped her off her feet.

He grabbed her by the hips and deposited her in the center of the bed. He kicked off his shoes and undid the button and then the zipper on his pants. As soon as he was naked he joined her on the bed.

Finally.

Finally, he was naked with her. Finally, he was next to her. The only thing he wanted more was to be inside her.

Was it possible for a man to die of desire? He thanked God for a healthy heart and steady blood pressure. Then he stopped being capable of reasonable thought and started to kiss her body.

First her navel, he pressed a soft kiss there, moving lower, licking and nuzzling his way down her stomach. Her skin quivered, and arousal thrummed in her veins. "Logan…"

"I can't take any longer of this."  
He smiled at her dry tone as he positioned himself between her legs.

"Me neither." He bent up her legs slightly, staring down at how beautiful and lush she was and amazed that she was giving herself to him. "You're beautiful, and you're also sweet. I promise to be gentle."

"Well, if this is all you have got."

"Then I promise to be gentle at first."

"Sounds good."

He held her down so her back was steady on the bed, he then wrapped her legs more tightly around his back as he pushed into her. "And since it's your first time with me, I'll make you get off first."

And yes, he did.

* * *

**A/N: **Huge chapter, huh? I thought about splitting it in two, but you guys always tell me you like big chapters.

Please review and tell me what you think about Rory's sudden decision and what you think of this version of Logan.

Chapter 3 will land next friday, Oct 4th!


	3. Chapter 3 - Lady Luck

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girs. if I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Another update! I'm spoiling you guys, aren't I?

Thank you for all the reviews and cute messages! I'm so happy you are enjoying the story. I wrote this chapter over a year ago! These were the dialogues that convinced me to write a new story. I hope you like it. Please review!

* * *

**CHAPTER 3 – LADY LUCK.**

* * *

To her surprise, Rory _actually_ fell asleep in her one-night stand's hotel room.

She only slept for a couple of hours, but it was more than she would have imagined doing.

Even though she could argue that she knew him a _little_ more, he was still a stranger to her. And falling asleep in a stranger's bed just didn't seem very smart. But it was almost six in the morning when she woke groggily, trying to figure out where she was, who she was with, and what day it was.

When she'd oriented herself, she became aware of the guy stretched out in bed beside her on his stomach, the sheet covering his lower body and one arm bent and tucked under the pillow.

He really did have a great body. His back was smooth and lean and rippling with nicely developed muscles, and his arms and shoulders were very impressive.

Her cheeks warmed slightly at the sight, this sign of how much she'd enjoyed the last night. After she left this room, she'd never see this guy again.

She couldn't believe she'd _really_ had a one-night stand.

For a few minutes, when the nerves had hit her, she'd been convinced she was going to walk out on him.

She was glad she hadn't.

It took a few minutes to make herself move, but she finally managed to sit up. She needed to get home. It was already too late, she didn't want Paris to know she'd been out all night. She was normally fairly open with her, even if she was a pain in the ass sometimes, but last night felt like a private indulgence, a really good secret.

When she swung her legs over the side of the bed, she felt the man stirring beside her. Looking over, she noticed he'd opened his eyes.

"Hey," he mumbled.

"Hey. I'm just leaving."

"Did I fall asleep?" He had really vivid eyes. They were genuinely beautiful, with tiny laugh lines that softened the edges of his handsomeness. "Yeah, we both did. That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Yeah, it wasn't."

"I thought you'd have sneaked out in the middle of the night by now."

He contemplated for a minute and scrubbed a hand across his face. "Trust me; I'm as surprised as you."

"I appreciate your honesty."

Too honest, she thought. Still, he implied their time wasn't necessarily over. "We still have time for a shower?"

"Yeah, listen…" Quickly and politely she told him in a serious voice. "I think I'm done with the whole _wild-one-night-stand_ thing."

"So my nudity ticket expired at 12 am?"

"Something like that."

"Are you Cinderella?"

"No, but I'm eager to find my glass shoe."

"Okay." He blinked a couple of times and then groaned softly as he sat up. He swung his legs over the side of the bed the way she had. "I'll walk you out."

"You don't have to."

"Yeah, I am. It could be dangerous outside."

"Seriously, that's not necessary."

"You're really arguing with me about this?" He shot her a disapproving look.

She chuckled and stood up so she could reach her dress, which was still tossed on the floor where she'd left it. "Okay. Thanks."

She groaned at the thought of putting on her shoes, then she realized she was missing her bra.

It wasn't on the floor anywhere, so she turned toward the bed. Logan had pulled on his jeans over his underwear, but then he reached over and dug her bra out from under the sheets.

He handed it to her with a little quirk of his lips.

She put it on, not failing to see the way his eyes lingered on her breasts as she did. She tried not to let the tinge on her cheeks grow any more out of control.

"All right. I think I'm mostly dressed."

He was wearing his jeans and had slid on some shoes, but his chest was still bare. He grabbed the key card from the dresser and opened the door to the room.

They walked out of the room and down to the streets in silence. "Hey, thanks. For everything. I had a really good time." She could see her way from there, but one didn't tell a one-night stand where one lived, no matter how nice he was.

"Me too." His eyes were warm and slightly sleepy. "I really did."

"Good. Okay. I... uh, better get going." She felt self-conscious again since this was such a new thing for her, but he was as nice and casual about it as she could have hoped for. She gave him one last smile and then headed to her own way.

"Wait!" He shouted after her. "At least tell me your name." He asked, now almost pleading which produced a small smile upon her face. But still, she waved as she pulled out onto the quiet street. "Bye, Logan."

He slowly felt the disappointment growing inside him, but he wouldn't humiliate himself for information she obviously didn't want to give him. So he just waved back as she turned around the corner.

Feeling like she'd won some sort of victory, she returned home to her dorm room.

She'd done it.

She'd had a one-night stand.

She'd had a really good time.

And it hadn't had any lingering consequences at all.

* * *

Rory decided to walk aimlessly around the campus for a while. It was an undoubtedly beautiful day and, the sun was surprisingly bright for an autumn morning, and she could have sworn the song the birds echoed sounded familiar.

For the first time in weeks, she felt peaceful and content, even though she was a little confused, she wasn't surrounded by pessimistic thoughts that could drag her into darkness.

She was fine, but as she turned the corner on her dorm, her breath caught when she spotted the police at her door. She inquired to what the problem was, and the officer explained that a girl who lived in there had been reported missing, according to her roommate.

This had to be a joke.

Rory passed through the small crowd at her door and reached inside, coming close to a hysterical Paris causing a public freak out over nothing. "Paris!" Rory shouted over the mess. "What is this all about?"

A wide-eyed Paris shook Rory. "There you are! Did they hurt you?"

"Who?"

"Where have you been?"

"You called the police for me?"

"I sure did. It's 7 am! How am I supposed to think you'd be still sleeping at this time on a Saturday morning?"

"Because it's Saturday! I went out, this is _not_ a big deal."

"But you never go out." Paris protested. "You never stay out the whole night." She blinked at her. "You never look like _this_ either."

Rory scowled at her with exasperation. It was clear she needed to leave her dorm more often. And not only for classes. "I did decide to stay out this time. No kidnappers necessary."

She turned and headed for her room, noticing as soon as she reached the entrance that something was missing. "Did you rip down my bedroom door?"

"You know I take fire safety very seriously."

The cops exchanged a look and decided they had more important things to do than put up with a college kid drama.

As Paris followed them to the door and watched them leave, she turned to find an angry Rory glaring at her. Maybe Rory was expecting some lapse of conscience from her friend, maybe an apology would be welcome, but who she was kidding? This was Paris, self-criticism was not her thing, and some common sense attitude was apparently something impossible to have. She tried to blame her though. "You could have used your phone."

Yeah, maybe she could have. But she didn't want though. She didn't have to tell Paris everything.

Outwardly she seemed calm and detached, but inwardly she fumed and boiled, ready for her wrath to erupt at any moment. "I don't wanna know, Paris. I have plans for this night too, by the way. Don't bother putting the morgue on your speed dial."

She thoroughly checked out her bedroom and headed for the bathroom, where she could lock the door and take a breather. "You better fix that door before I come back tonight."

* * *

Logan was used to finding guests in his dorm. Filthy shoes on the coffee table, bread crumbs and beer cans scattered on the floor were part of the package deal. But _that_ particular day, place looked like a dump. "Seems like I missed the party." He teased, taking a quick look at all the debris around him as soon as he got home.

"You did not, the party is still going on!" Someone announced loudly from the other room. He could hear the telltale shouts of his friends drinking beer and playing video games at 7 am. "There's still beer in that keg!"

"Not in the mood, guys. I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Wait a minute... Wait just a minute." Colin narrowed his eyes and pointed a stubby finger at Logan. Suddenly something clicked. "It's seven AM. You disappeared at the party before two this morning."

His friends stopped the game and looked at him in disbelief. "Did you spend the night with some girl?"

Logan admitted unceremoniously. "Yes..." They exchanged looks and snorted with laughter. "Are you sure you weren't passed out in an alley?"

"C'mon, guys, don't do this to me," Logan whined.

"Oh no, let's talk about that." Immediately, they dropped what they were doing, and followed him in the room, jumping the chairs along with everything else in the way. "Tell us about this girl."

He set down his stuff, took off his jacket and tossed it onto the side. "She smells like peaches." He murmured softly.

"Peaches? What's her name?" They asked like crazy, trying unsuccessfully to hide the smiles that were now splitting their faces. "Does she have a red haired friend?" Added Finn.

"I don't know anything about her."

"Where she lives?"

"I don't know."

"Does she go to school here?"

"I suppose, yes."

"Does she have a read haired friend?" Finn interjected again, once again ignored.

"Did she give you her number?"

"Not really."

"But Logan..." Finn tried again.

"I don't know if she has a red-haired friend, Finn." Logan cut across him. He widened his eyes dramatically. "I wasn't going to ask you that."

The two friends crossed their arms across his chest and glanced at him, waiting for Finn to go into detail. "Does she have..." He took a little while. "... A female mate with a ginger color hair?"

Logan just waved him quiet with a dismissive hand gesture and contemplated the two, still waiting for information he didn't have. He was too tired for that. He walked to his couch, collapsing in the soft, white velvet pillows and covering his head with one of them.

"Let me see if I get this straight. This girl slept with you, you spent the night and didn't even get her name?" Colin spoke slowly and tried to order his thoughts into a coherent explanation.

Logan was silent for a minute or two. Finally he said, in a small, muffled voice, "That sounds about right."

His friends were slightly amused and bowled over by that idea. "You've been _Hutzberge'd_!"

* * *

Logan had spent the rest of the morning thinking about his hot night with the pretty brunette and vaguely wishing he knew who she was, even though that wasn't something he did often.

He kept telling himself he might as well enjoy the memory since it wouldn't do any harm. And he still had her in the back of his mind when he went to a party meet a friend.

This wasn't the kind of party he was used to, but it could be interesting. So he wandered around wondering what he should do. He took a little time noticing the paintings and the people around him - What they were wearing, how they moved, their facial expressions and so forth. He had to admit, it was a much more diverse and polite audience than he was used to.

The girls seemed interesting also.

Normally, brainy girls weren't his type, but since the last night was a nice surprise, he made a mental note to be opened to that possibility in future opportunities.

He wasn't there to hook up anyway.

He was still sleep deprived and his head was almost killing him, but he might as well hang out there for a little while. He could just wander around, and maybe even collect some interesting observations. That's how he came across a huge and colorful painting that called his attention.

Logan stared at it slowly taking in its magnificence. He was deep in thought about nothing in particular when he felt a hand placed on his shoulder and a familiar voice saying, "It's not _The Battle of Anghiari_, but it's kind of cool."

"You're kidding? This is so much better."

"Hard to believe coming from someone who has a _Velazquez_ in his dining room."

"Random expensive and pretentious things without any special personal value." He cynically snorted. He didn't get it why that'd be such a big deal. "Couldn't fit in better."

"Oh come, on!" Jess gave him a quizzical smile. "Are you going to tell me it wasn't amazing to see all this art all over Europe?"

Logan shrugged and sunk his hands into his pocket, like it was no big deal. "What kind of parents push their kids into boring huge European museums when they just want to run and have an ice cream, anyway?"

"The rich kind."

Logan nodded vigorously, his grin as bright as ever. Jess clearly had a point. "Speaking of, congratulations on the book. I've read it twice so far. It's very nice."

Jess scratched his head, twiddled his thumb and scratched his head some more. "It's not that good. Honestly, I'd change everything if I could by now."

"Nonsense, this is going to be a hit." Logan said firmly, flipping the book in his hands and skimming his eyes over the description on the back again. "My father doesn't fund projects he doesn't see great commercial potential. And he did it because you are really talented."

"It almost seems like you wanted me to be his son instead of you." Jess teased, earning a laugh from Logan.

"Well, you'd be a better son than me. If that happens, you can have the _Velazquez_."

Jess joined him and they snorted together. "I appreciate the support, but we are expecting a somewhat modest circulation."

"I shall not let this happen. I'm taking 200 copies."

"Logan, there are 500 copies total. We don't even have that amount here today."

"So I'm taking all the leftover copies. Just send them to my place. I'm going to pass them on, it's time for a little culture in the group and less vomiting on the carpet."

Jess's face broke into a little grin. "You know Finn can't read it, right?"

"Yeah... Maybe you should print some pictures in the next edition then."

They sipped in their drinks, alternating between looking around and catching up, when suddenly Logan saw a familiar face across the room that he thought that he recognized.

At first he was sure his thoughts about the brunette were affecting his vision. He thought he must be imagining her standing there, but a second look confirmed the first.

It was her. Her hair was loose as it had been when she'd left the hotel room early that morning, and now she was wearing a long, oversized skirt that hid any hint of her gorgeous body.

But it was definitely her.

Staring at him like he'd just walked out of her nightmares.

She'd had a good time last night. He was sure of it. Just as good a time as he'd had.

She didn't have to look at him like he was the _last_ person she wanted to see.

For a lack of a better plan, he decided maybe Jess could clarify something about her.

"Who is that girl?" Jess followed his eyes to where one of his friends was standing. Not any friend, Rory. He must be interested in her. Or he wouldn't have asked that.

"That's Rory. She's a friend of mine." Jess told him feeling increasingly suspicious of his intentions. "Why are we having this conversation?"

"No, chill man. It's a fair question. I just think I've seen her before."

"Likely, she goes to Yale too."

"Oh..." Logan might have noticed Jess stiffening with the question. Maybe he should stop talking about _the brunette_. Rory. So, that was her the name. "I saw her once, but I didn't know her name."

It was a busy night for Jess. He didn't want to leave this conversation anytime soon, but he realized he had others immediate situation at hand needing his attention. One more look, and the feeling got stronger. The way his friend looked at her just wasn't natural. "Look, Logan..." Jess's eyes interchanged between them. "She is a nice girl; unlike all those other girls, you prance around here with. So... You know, don't do anything stupid. I really care about her."

Logan held up his hands defensively. "Relax, I'm not planning to do anything."

Especially because he had already done it.

Jess just tapped his friend's shoulder, his frown softened slowly into a less hostile expression and he crossed the room.

His words were still echoing in Logan's head when he looked at her again. And this time, he caught her looking at him too, even if she had made a point by quickly darting her eyes away.

Rory couldn't believe this was real.

At first she thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but it wasn't until Jess had moved out of the way that she was fully ensured.

It wasn't a stranger. It wasn't some random guy whom Jess was friends with.

It was the guy she'd had slept with last night. The good-looking, smart, funny guy who had been so considerate with her. Her one-night stand, whom she was _supposed_ to never see again.

A flashback of the last night came to her like a lightning bolt bringing with it a mixed feeling of excitement and frustration.

She knew he had seen her. He definitely did. And by the way his eyes met hers, and looked momentarily stunned, she could tell he was clearly surprised too.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

There wasn't supposed to be consequences.

She was supposed to have gotten through last night without any lingering regrets.

She didn't have time to think things over, within seconds he was coming toward her with that confident natural swagger that reminded her of the first moment she had ever set her eyes on him. His eyes never left her.

Sweat glistened on her neck, her stomach was fluttering too much from nerves, uncertain of how she should behave. What the hell they were supposed to talk about, anyways?

"You look like a frightened lizard". She reprimanded herself aloud, desperately trying to chill, as if it was possible.

And in a blink of an eye, there he was. Smiling at her like he had every right to do so. "Hey, _wife_."

Her voice cracked a little as her gaze scanned his. Her pupils did a funny widening thing. "What?"

"I'm just sticking to our last conversation."

"This must be a joke." She remarked, shaking her head away and kind of glancing up at the sky, as if some kind of divine punishment had just fallen on her.

"Not a joke, but I'm surprised to see again the girl who made my night very fun." He dropped it to see how she would react. Her skin flushed a delicious pink. He hoped that blush was from pleasure, not from embarrassment. His guts told him he was wrong though. "You don't seem pleased to see me."

"You can tell?" She tried to pass it off as a joke but he could tell it was a well-known test of nerves.

"Did I do something wrong?" His words seemed as clueless as his eyes, staring at her eagerly. It was hard for her to find a reason to be acting this way. "No…" She rested her hands on her hips and notched her chin up, finally meeting his eyes. "To tell you the truth, I didn't expect to see you here."

He nodded along, but not because he was happy to hear that. He was really frowning inside matter-of-factly, but he wouldn't risk to scare her away, so he took his time. "Is that right? Why not?"

"I thought you surely had something better to do."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Brush your hair, drink expensive disgusting whiskey with your rich friends, whiten your teeth?"

Did he hear correctly before? She said he did nothing wrong. He couldn't understand her passive-aggressive tone. Dealing with this girl could be harder than he imagined. "My _wife_ is defensive."

"That is possibly the worst nickname ever."

"Isn't Rory a nickname?"

"Well yeah, but that's different."

He pushed her to delve further. "Why?"

"Because my Mom gave it to me."

"So are you saying you like you Mom better than me, or you just don't like my nicknames?"

"You'd never win in court with that argument."

"That's ok, because I don't want to be a lawyer."

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't bother to ask questions. He'd give it another try. "I've heard you go to Yale. What's your major?"

"You don't have to make small talk to me, we'll probably never see each other in the campus anyway."

Her icy frown froze him to the spot. "You seem to be so sure of everything. How would you know that?"

"Because, you and I..." She was stiff-faced, but her eyes darted to his and then fled back. "I'm sure we're very different people."

"Different is not _bad_, though."

"I'm not saying that, I just think last night was all that could have happened between us. You got what you wanted from me, I don't understand why you seem to be trying really hard to get to know me."

"Why shouldn't I want to know you better?"

She chewed her lower lip as she studied his face. Oh boy, why did she want to taste that lip of his again? Perhaps because he was handsome, charming, ridiculously open and surprisingly honest. Why did he seem so untrustworthy then? Probably because he was also a smooth talker and knew just what a girl wanted to hear. Weren't they all like this?

No. She knew she couldn't endure that kind of thing anymore. "This is a mistake."

Her body language said she was ready to cut and run at any moment. "If you see me around, please don't call me by any nicknames you dream up. This conversation is already embarrassing enough."

Logan saw the distress on her face and her nervous fidgeting. It was so unlike him to insist on girls, expressly the ones who did anything to push him away as this one. Still, somehow he wasn't ready to give up. "OK, I'm not going to call you _my wife_ anymore. Better, I'm not calling you any nickname. Just tell me your real name."

"I don't feel like telling you anything."

"So you leave me no choice, _Peaches_."

"_Peaches_? You literally just said-…"

"-…Yes. You smell like peaches. That's what I'm going to call you from now on."

"You don't get it, do you? Plus, how do you know all those stuff about me? Are you stalking me or what?"

"Or what." He was obviously taken aback.

Rory became very still, as though she was listening to something only she could hear. The echo of his voice still rang in her head and once again she felt very stupid to have made such an outburst in front of him. "Sorry…"

His cheek dimpled with a smile, good-humoredly accepting her apologies. "I'm not stalking you. Jess told me."

_Jess_. Her friend. One of her few friends right now.

She anxiously searched for him in the crowded room and their eyes found each other. Rory would give him strange looks when they mentally communicated with one another, but he could tell from her mind, which was easier to pry into, she didn't know exactly what she was reacting to.

She wondered why he looked edgy. He must know Logan's reputation. She couldn't give people anymore reasons to be disappointed. "You can't tell him." Rory asked to the blonde standing in front of her. Her voice sounded almost like a pleading as she clarified. "About what we did."

Logan looked from Rory to Jess with uncertainty. "Why not?" He wasn't looking at her, but she could tell he was confused by her behavior. And she could hardly blame him. But she couldn't tell Jess. Not yet. Maybe never. "Because... My life is changing. I have made decisions and I'm about to piss my family off. I just..."

She looked really upset. Family issues weren't the end of the world for him. "Hey, calm down. I disappoint my family everyday, is going to be ok."

Even though his voice sounded comforting and warm, she couldn't see a way out. "You don't understand." His eyes asked for permission to pat her this time, but she flinched. He noticed her eyes flying away to Jess's direction once more. "Is there something going on between you and Jess?"

She couldn't bring herself to look at him, so she stared at her feet instead, mumbling. "No..."

He narrowed his eyes as he studied the girl standing before him. No way he was convinced. "Is he the _guy_ you mentioned before?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does. Especially if you're asking me to lie for you." Logan said like it was obvious and commonplace. "Also, Jess is my friend and I wouldn't appreciate to be caught off guard in the middle of whatever is going on between you two."

She let out a sharp breath because she knew he had a point, even if a part of her argument fell apart. "No, he's not. Jess and I used to date a long time ago, but now we're just friends."

"So what's the deal?"

"I just can't afford to disappoint anyone else. I don't wanna loose him either."

He glanced at her a momentarily contorted his face. This was bad. Pretty bad.

"So please..." She looked as if all the steam was boiling into her.

He deliberately softened his voice. "Okay."

"Promise me."

Logan felt like his hands were tied. He could tell whatever she was going through was a very painful subject for her. He wanted to know more, but she obviously didn't want to discuss it and he didn't want to push her. The thought of hiding secrets certainly bothered him, but the way she asked was so appealing he couldn't simply say no. "I promise."

She let out the air she was holding, as if he had took a weight off her shoulders. He couldn't ignore how even with her face filled with worry, her troubled eyes shone so delightfully. She had so much innocence and natural beauty. He recalled that he couldn't take his eyes off her; again, he was completely enthralled by her beauty. "You are just as beautiful as I remebered." He shamelessly admitted, earning a smile from her for the first time that evening. Even if it was a shy smile, it was definitely one. And that was okay for now.

"Still, no embarrassing nicknames." She stubbornly replied. He smiled in reply.

He waved at her once and turned away, disappearing into the small crowd. Rory replayed the conversation in her head. She is come across as bigger a fool as she felt? She sucked a deep breath in and smiled to herself. He wasn't as beautiful as she's recalled. He was even better.

* * *

Logan rushed out the door after he heard his friends honking outside.  
He hopped in the car and they sped off.

It was so unlike him to be so visibly rattled. He hadn't stopped thinking about her for the past hours and how amazing that night had been. How weird it was to meet her so out of the blue like that again?

He could still see her through the window as the car moved further away. Still, standing there just as she was before.

The longer he watched her, the longer his friends were amused. Colin knew right there what it was all about. "So that was the mysterious girl?"

"Yes." He answered, but his eyes were focused far beyond his friend.

"And what she was doing there?"

His eyes kept darting toward her and then shifting away. "She's Jess's ex-girlfriend."

"And you slept with her, but he doesn't know." Silence. "Hey!" Colin leaned in closer. "Did you hear me?"

He looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

"Congratulations, dude. You've got yourself into a hell of a mess here." Colin tapped his back to feel if he was still there, and to his surprise, he could feel the understanding dawning on his friend.

"Well, shit."

* * *

**A/N: **This is just the second time I write Jess in a story. Which is weird, because we barely know him as an adult. I will write him the way I believe he'd be and you guys tell me if you like it. What do you think will happen now between Logan and Rory?

Chapter 4 will land next friday, Oct 11th!


	4. Chapter 4 - By The Way

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girs. If I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently. There is a brief adapted dialogue from 5x12 in this chapter.

**A/N: **Yes, I'm rocking this thing called updating! Thank you guys for sticking with my story. I hope you're having fun!

This is a smaller chapter, kind of a filler, but just because next chapter is possibly the biggest chapter I ever wrote in my entire life. I know you are interested to know more about Logan and Jess' relationship, but I need to develop Rory and Logan' relationship first. I guess this is a fun chapter!

Now, I'd like to talk to you, my dear lurkers. Today is a good opportunity to leave me a review for the first time! I want to meet new readers.

My loyal readers, as always, please review. ❤︎

* * *

**CHAPTER 4 – BY THE WAY**

* * *

It was calm, dark and — most important — private outside the frat house, which was why Logan had brought this girl there.

She'd had a lot to drink today, and when she drank, she got loud and obnoxious.

She was also pissed at him at the moment.

"I don't think there's anything more to discuss, about why you keep dragging your feet about the two of us moving forward."

Yeah that _so_ wasn't happening. "We talked about that before, I think it's time to go home."

He'd brought her outside the party in the hopes of cooling her down.

"We've been dating two whole weeks! Don't you think it's time we make it official?"

It had been the most awful two weeks of his entire life. Okay, maybe not at the beginning. This girl was a knockout. A golden-brown complexion with long dark hair, very dark eyes, and curves that just didn't quit, but there was something quirky about her that turned Logan off. Perhaps it was because he'd noticed she didn't hold her liquor well, and when she drank, she was not a fun drunk. She was loud, obnoxious and she insulted his friends. Whenever she allowed him to be around his friends.

She wasn't his girlfriend. He barely knew her, as a matter-of-fact. Still, somehow she'd grown more demanding of his time. Whenever they weren't together, she wanted to know where he was and how soon he was coming over. In other words, she wanted him to be hers.

He was so not on board with that.

So now he had to redirect her and calm her down before things got out of hand. "How about we go home and tomorrow I'll buy you a little something?"

She pushed his chest. "I don't give a shit about presents. I want you to make a _commitment_ to me."

He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. He didn't want to do this here, but she hadn't left him much of a choice. "That's not gonna happen. I don't do commitment and I like to be with women who don't buy into the whole commitment thing, either. I've told you before. "

She poked at his chest. "You know what? You're a jerk. I thought we were heading somewhere. You led me to believe—" He was going to have to stop her there. "I never made promises to you."

And now the tears. He'd seen a lot of those lately, too. Especially when she'd been drinking. "I thought we were in love, Logan."

"I never said that, either."

She broke down then and sobbed. Well, shit. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry my ass. You're not sorry at all." He didn't know how a woman could be so drunk, yet so accurate, but her knee hit his crotch at just the right angle, and he went down like a fighter who'd just been blasted by a perfect punch. Lights out.

He vaguely registered her slurred words. "You're a prick. We're done!" He heard the click of her heels on the stone floor as she walked away.

He couldn't even breathe, let alone care that she'd just left him on the ground. Jesus Christ, that had hurt.

He lay there for what seemed like hours, but he knew it was only minutes before he managed to stagger to his knees. He found the wall, still struggling to catch his breath. In a minute. He'd be able to stand, in just a minute.

"Are you okay?" He heard a female voice. Great. Just what he needed. A witness to his humiliation.

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

"You are not fine". She answered softly, and he felt her crouching close against him. His eyes were still closed and he concentrated all his effort on trying to determine if his balls were still attached to his body. But deep inside, he felt somehow he knew that voice. Better, he knew that smell. Peaches.

He opened his eyes and looked over at his unwanted savior. Oh, no. Someone up there must be kidding.

She was, of course, the gorgeous girl he'd been slightly wishing to bump across for the last couple of weeks. But not like this.

He leaned against the cool wall and tried to think about anything but this humiliating situation.

She slipped her fingers around his wrist. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Shhh." Fine with him. Maybe if he didn't say anything, or look at her, she'd disappear. But she didn't. She kept holding on to him. "Your pulse rate is a little high."

He opened his eyes and looked down at her. "Not surprising since I just got kicked in the balls."

She pursed her lips as she met his gaze. "I should examine you." He let out a laugh. "What?"

"You asked me what was my major and there it is. I'm Pre-med. You should let me take a look."

"Honey, no offense, but the last thing I want is any woman near my balls tonight. Or possibly ever again."

She smiled. "You say that now. You'll change your mind once they feel better."

"Uh, no. I'm okay." She put her hands on her hips. She had nice hips, he remembered. "Playing hard to get?" He looked her over. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

"I see you're starting to feel better. That's a very good sign. But no, I'm not showing you mine. I am going to look at yours, though."

"Okay. Fine." He reached for the zipper of his pants and she snickered, moved in closer, and he caught that light sweet peachy scent. He breathed it in, the best thing he'd smelled all night.

She took a pretty good look at his injury, but she had no idea what she was doing. Then she took a step back. "You can pull your pants up now. You're going to be fine. They're still hanging in there. Do you need any help to get on your feet?"

He allowed her to help him to a sitting position but then shook her off. "I'm perfectly fine. I can get up by myself. "

"Are you sure?" She stood, blue eyes fixed intently on him. Logan considered a moment. Damn, that was still hurting badly, and to be honest, he had no pride left. So standing up would be a two-stage affair.

"Just give me your damn hand." He did, sort of hesitatingly, glancing back at her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She put her hand on her hips to catch her breath and looked away, squinting in the same direction the girl had left. "She seemed… Lovely."

Logan rested his hands on his knee and looked up at her, he shook his head, and smiled. "They all do." Logan rasped as soon as he could form words again. "What are you doing here?"

"I was out of Doritos. You?"

"Testing my ability to have children."

"Classy. At least you didn't have to do it in a cup."

"Did you come all this way just to find a snack?"

"Yes, the movie marathon doesn't work without Doritos."

"It's pretty late and pitch-black," He said incredulously.

She looked at him absently, as if she was wondering what his point was. He had to clarify. "Maybe I should walk you back to your dorm? Like the true gentleman I am."

"A true gentleman doesn't get himself kicked in the balls in public, late at night. Why would you want to walk me back?" She grinned lightly and opened her snack pack of chips from her backpack.

"You could bump to some creep along the way." He tried to argue with her, but she just chuckled. "Look, it's Saturday night, and I'm wearing my sweatshirt and flip-flops combo. If I bump to someone along the way, trust me, _I'm_ the creepy one."

Logan laughed and shook his head. "Even so, I insist."

Rory raised a chip snack to her mouth as she stared at him. "Okay. I don't think you seem fit to defend me from some weirdo under these conditions, though."

He flashed her a proud smile. "I will do my best." She pouted in contemplation. "Let's go then, but I'm going warn you," She pointed her finger at him. "If something comes up, I'll run."

"You put very little faith in me."

"You just got knocked out by a girl." She quipped sarcastically and she could see a flash of humor in his eyes. "Only because I'm a gentleman. I told you."

"Okay, _Mr. Gentleman_. This way." She pointed in the direction she had been moving.

"So, are you a freshman?"

"No, I'm not a freshman. I'm a sophomore. Do I look like a freshman to you?"

Logan chuckled as they walked together to her dorm. "No," He said, "But if you're not a freshman, how come I never see you around?"

"I'm around."

"Where?"

"Class, the coffee cart, the student store."

"Wow, thrilling life."

"I'm not really that boring."

"Oh, I don't think you're boring. You're a little too mysterious though. It's difficult trying to get a read on you. Tell me something new about yourself."

"I don't go outside that much."

"Interesting, maybe I should take you to a quick tour through the interesting places around here." He motions her to follow him. "C'mon, I'll show you around."

"Oh, um, that's okay. I got the tour during orientation."

"That's the school tour. You need the REAL tour."

"What's the difference?"

"They just show you the buildings. I can show you where to get the best food, the best study spots." He grins. "The best places to be with a girl—or guy, in your case."

She rolled her eyes. "You really think I want to know where you go to have sex?"

"I didn't say _sex_. I said be with the person, meaning to talk, study, kiss—whatever you want to do."

"Yeah, like you actually sit and talk to a girl."

He looked at her, pausing a moment. "You don't think I talk to girls?"

"Not the ones you're dating." She walked away, wanting to get away from him because just being around him was causing that tingling feeling again.

"Why do you think I don't talk to them?" he said, catching up to her.

"Do you have something in common with them other than your popularity?" She walked faster.

"Hey." He grabbed her backpack, stopping her.

"What?"

"You're walking too fast. And why the hell do you always do that?"

"Do what?" She sighed.

"Act like I'm some shallow asshole who only dates airhead girls and uses them for sex."

She turned and met his stare. "Because that's what you do."

"Said who? Jess? Is he the one telling you this? Because if so, he's wrong. He didn't know anything about the girls I dated. He hasn't even met most of them."

"Jess didn't say anything. We never talked about you. It's an observation I made on my own."

"Is that so?" he said in a smug tone, folding his arms over his chest. "Do you have any evidence to back up this observation?"

"I do." She folded her arms like he was doing. "And? What is it?"

"The girl that just hit you." She spit out like it's something rotten she just ate. "And I've seen you with some other girls around too. They always look the same type."

"We have stuff in common."

"Like what?"

"We like parties."

"And...?"

He decided this discussion would be a waste of time. "Let's go," he said, grabbing her arm. "We're running out of time. I need to at _least_ show you where to get a decent lunch around here."

"Logan, wait." She yanked him back. "Show me the make-out spots first or whatever."

He smiled. "I didn't call it a make-out spot."

"Maybe not, but that's what I'm going to use it for." She kept her arm wrapped around his as they walked.

"So who's the guy?" He asked lightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I assume you have a guy you'll be taking to this spot. Or at least someone in mind."

"Not yet. I'm still working on that. I thought I had someone but he turned out to be not interested."

Logan laughed. "That's crazy."

"Yeah, just my luck. Then I found another guy and, well, he stood me up."

Shocked, Logan couldn't even begin to hide his surprise from her. Didn't even try. Who wouldn't want to date her? "Get out!"

"I'm serious."

"Then why did he ask you out?"

She shrugged and sighed a little. "He didn't. I asked him out."

"Really?"

"Would that bother you? If a girl asked you out?"

"Not at all. I'm actually used to it. Girls ask me out all the time. I'm not bragging about that. I'm just saying that's what happens a lot these days."

Or at least he knew it happened a lot, because he was rich and had a well-known name. He wished that didn't matter, but he knew it did. People were just as shallow as Rory suspected him to be.

He was amazed at the change in her tone when she was lost in her thoughts. He could tell she was quite inspired, somehow she was talking about herself with him again. Every time he met this girl she had a very different look in her eyes, almost like a different person. "But you know, if he doesn't want to go out with you, then he's probably a jerk." He said quietly.

She looked up, her face pale but a flash of humor in her eyes. "You should work on a self-help hotline." The glint in her face caused him to widen his grin.

"I'd give a thought, but if I'd want to help _myself_, I'd ask you out."

"You would?" She narrowed her eyes in contemplation. Was he hitting on her? Or was he telling her he'd never go out with her again? Sure, she couldn't call "going out" what they did before, but you got it. If the first option was correct, he had just admitted he was considering doing it. She'd definitely have to make sure nothing like that happened again. Although, deep down, she secretly wished it was the first option. "So that means you won't?"

He waited until the sparkle of humor in her eyes faded into interest and the unfocused gaze that signaled deep thought. "If I didn't think Jess would kick my ass, I would."

Rory laughed nervously. That shouldn't be the answer she was eager to hear, but damn, it sort of was. "Yeah, right," She said, still laughing and trying to pretend she wasn't that shaken up. "Jess's ass-kicking days in regards to me are over."

"Or you'd like to think." Logan teased her and she froze up. Was he suggesting that Jess had a thing for her? She considered asking him point-blank, but dropped it.

It was better not to know what they might have talked about her, if they ever did.

She took a deep breath when she realized that they had reached her dorm door. That was fun, but it was better that way, this conversation could get out of hand anytime now. "So this is where I spend my days."

Logan checked the place out. "Nice dorm."

"It's fine..." They nodded at each other in awkward silence.

They were trying to think of something to say. But now so much time had passed since they last said anything. In the moonlight, he could see her chewing her lip. "So, thanks for that. It's pretty late, I should go to bed."

He looked at her for a couple of long seconds, as though he wanted to say something else.

She reached for the handle to open the door, but for some reason, she couldn't get her feet to move. A glance back over her shoulder showed her that Logan was still staring at her, with a soft, but little teasing smile on his face. "One more question."

"Sure." She said while standing at the doorstep.

"Did you make me drop my pants because it was medically necessary, or because you wanted to get a good look at it?" One side of her mouth curved up in a sexy-as-hell smile. "Logan, I'm surprised you'd ask that question."

She turned and headed up her room. Which wasn't an answer at all. The night was starting to look up. "By the way," Playfulness laced her voice, and her eyes twinkled, "My major is Journalism."

* * *

**A/N: **Huh, I think Logan has a reason to look into Rory's life now. What else did she hide/omit from him? Tell me if you want to read funnier chapters like this or not.

Chapter 5 will be available next friday - Oct, 18th.


	5. Chapter 5 - Fake It 'Til You Make It

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girs. if I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Another update as I promised. Thank you for sticking with my story! I wonder if you guys are going to be tired of this HUGE chapter!

Please review!

* * *

**CHAPTER 5 – ****FAKE IT 'TIL YOU MAKE IT**

* * *

It was just another morning that Rory overslept.

This late-night routine of watching movies and stuffing herself with candies, was making her nights of sleep worse and worse.

The dark circles under her eyes were growing bigger and she could hardly find strength to get out of bed, except she only had 10 minutes left to get to the breakfast. That was a good reason.

She strode to the cafeteria, hoping to find at least one cup of coffee, but it seemed to be too late.

She checked all the milk carts. Empty. From the cereals distributed, only the crumbs remained. No bread. She barely could count a few drops of coffee.

That was just a nightmare.

She glanced at the empty tables and overturned plates for something, anything, until she found a lonely muffin. Uneaten and visibly unsoiled.

She accepted her fate, knowing she would have to settle for what was left, she placed her humble breakfast on her tray and turned around.

"Bored?" She heard, and looked up to see Logan standing there, his arms folded across his chest. She couldn't help it but roll her eyes. "What?" he said.

She passed by him toward the nearest empty table. "What are you doing here? They don't sell vodka in the breakfast package."

He unfolded his arms quickly, but to her surprise, he laughed as he blocked her way. "I know, I came for the cereals. I think I'm way too late, though."

"What do you want, Logan?" She shot him a glare, hurrying him to spit it out.

"I'm just curious. First time we met you fell in bed with me, the second you blew me off, the third you tricked me to see me naked for no reason. I'm really looking forward to see what you're up to next."

"Sorry to disappoint you, I'm out. Now can you just move out of my way?"

"Sure, as soon as you tell me when the next episode of _Bananas in Pajamas_ is going to air." He broke into a sarcastic grin, purposely running his eyes up and down her, assessing her current aesthetic predicament.

"Only if you bring me some crushed nuts to boost my breakfast." She narrowed her eyes and rose her chin at him defiantly as she plastered the same smile that was slowly fading off of his face onto her own.

It only took him a few seconds to reflect on her last words. Coincidental or not, they made a lot of sense when he thought about other weird attitudes she had before. But was that possible? She had given him mixed signals so far. He had to ask, but his words sounded more like an awareness than a question. "You don't like me?"

She scowled, mocking him for finally noticing something that was so obvious to her.

"I can't figure you out. Why don't you like me?" he asked with an impish smile on his face. "I don't want to waste my time and effort."

She moved to go behind him, but he blocked her path again. "Why would that be?"

"The kind of thing that you're doing is the very reason. You made me lose the breakfast, you just can't stop talking. Now I have to eat this stupid muffin and starve myself til noon. And oh," She had something else to add to her list. "You also think that you're better than everyone else."

"Wow, you're judgmental. You missed the breakfast period because of _yourself_. You clearly slept through the alarm-clock. You don't know me, peaches."

Rory hissed. "Stop calling me this."

"Okay, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore."

She glanced up at his face then stopped still. Her eyes grew huge on her face. "How did you know my name?"

Logan shrugged and pouted sarcastically. "Well, you lied to me so I did some research."

That was when he began to list everything he had found out about her. "You want to be an international correspondent. You work at the college paper, and you're Richard and Emily's granddaughter. My family has known them for a long time actually. Your granddaddy is a nice fellow."

Rory looked like if she wanted to bite his head off. He noticed she couldn't let go of any side of the tray, then powerlessly, she watched him in a bold gesture. He took her one and only muffin from her tray and bit down, making sure not to take his eyes off her. She gave him a deadly stare, but exercised restrain while he returned the bitten muffin. "Well, you're right. This is a stupid muffin."

"Are you done? Because my day isn't improving here." Placing her tray back at the table, Rory marched out of the cafeteria. Logan just followed her through the door. "Hey, don't be like that. I was going to ask you to go have breakfast with me."

"I don't want to have breakfast with you!" Now she was on the verge of screaming. "Why don't you take one of those tramps you always wander around to your '_full of second intentions'_ kind of date?"

"Because tramps never miss the alarm. Surprisingly enough." She barely digested his teasing. She just turned her back on him and tried to storm off. It was the only thing she could do to prevent a homicide right in the middle of campus.

"That's not fair. I'm not asking you out on a date. I'm telling you I'd invite to have breakfast." He stepped into her path again, hands up.

"Like I'd ever go out on a date with you."

"Can I ask you why?"

"I don't see what's the point of discussing this any further."

"Why?"

Rory grimaced. She knew she had to think faster than him and come up with a good answer. "You probably don't even know how to treat a woman."

"I do. You have never been on a real date with me."

"So?"

"So? You're judging me. You've been judging me since the first minute we've met. Don't you think you should at least know me a little before you do that? That whole… Don't judge a book by its cover thing? You're into books aren't you?"

She frowned deeply. She couldn't remember a moment when he wasn't nice to her. She was sure she wasn't the best person to hang around with either lately, but he wasn't judging her.

Aside from that teasing moment, she couldn't find anything to hold against him. Perhaps he was born guilty of being rich, charming and handsome. Very handsome. That would be reason enough to judge someone like him, as her mother would.

"Maybe…" The word crawled out of her mouth. Her eyes assessed him but she did not deny any of that, instead she wrestled with that idea for a long moment because she knew he was right. "I'm sorry, I'm just not in my best frame of mind lately, I admit I've been taking out on you and you don't deserve that because you've been nothing but nice to me. Admittedly."

She pouted at him and added. "It's not your fault I lost my breakfast either."

"Apologies accepted. Now we should continue to talk about this over dinner?"

She wasn't sure if she had heard it right. "Are you really asking me out?"

"Why not? Do you have anything better to do?"

She searched her brain. "I don't know."

"Good, me neither. And since we're both free and I think we should know each other better, cause it doesn't seem we're going to stop meeting like this, I'm going to pick you up at seven."

"Wait, you don't think you're going to take me to your bed again, do you?"

He arched his eyebrows. "Are you offering?"

"No, and I don't want you to get your hopes up."

"Don't worry, I don't expect anything to happen. Let's agree this isn't a real date. We are just going to talk and get to know each other if that's ok for you. Deal?"

"Okay... " She reluctantly gave in, feeling her natural defenses going down.

"Great!" Logan smiled triumphantly. "7 Pm, Ace. I don't like to keep waiting."

She scowled at him. "Ace?"

He playfully poked her on the side. "Yeah, the reporter."

"Is it your mission in life to come up with lame nicknames that personally annoy me?"

"You're judging again." He said, withdrawing victoriously from the conversation.

"Stop calling me that." She shouted, but he didn't even bother to look back. He just kept going, a smile big on his face because he knew he had a date with Rory Gilmore.

He meant, Ace.

* * *

"Are you going out again? Do you realize we have to clean our room, have you done your assignments already? We're in college, Rory. I think it's time for you to get over the farm boy and get real."

Paris' pitchy voice lecturing her was the last thing she needed right now. "I am getting real, Paris. That's why I'm going out today, because I can't stay here listening to you whine the whole night anymore. I need some space."

"You met a guy, haven't you?" Her comment was met with a "don't go there" glare. "There is no guy, Paris. I'm just going to meet a friend."

"Which friend?"

"Does it matter? Sorry if I have other friends other than you."

"This little attitude isn't going to help." Paris stormed off slamming the door behind her.

Rory was still trying to shake off the weight of the conversation when a knock sounded at the door.

Frowning, she squinted through the peephole to find Logan standing outside her door. Drawing in another deep breath, she opened the door. "I thought we had agreed to 7 pm. You're an hour early."

"I know, I wanted to make sure you wouldn't change your mind."

"Was changing my mind an option?"

"No," he admitted. "Which is why I'm at your door."

She moistened her lips, her eyes puzzled. "As you can see, I'm not ready yet."

He used this as an excuse to assess her body again. She looked cute on that pink little sweatshirt set. "Not a problem," He invited himself in and then took himself on a tour of the room. Rory just stood by the door stunned by such boldness. Was he really thinking he could piss her off like that? Too bad, if two could play that game, she was just about to pull her finest smile.

"Well, make yourself at home." She left the living room rolling her eyes and let the door slam behind her. She kicked her shoes off her feet and let her body crash on the bed.

She opened her big book on her lap, determined on forgetting Logan had broken into her house. He would have a lot of time to think if pursuing her was what he really wanted.

Only a couple of minutes had passed and she saw a piece of paper sliding under the door, letting her know that Logan was once again on par with her thoughts. The neatly written words said: _"Making me wait on purpose isn't a way out either."_

"I'm just getting dressed." Annoyed, she answered, pushing the little paper back through the same place it came from.

She thought that would be it when she saw the paper coming back. _"Good, because I'd wait the whole night if I had to."_

Then she knew he wouldn't take a 'no' for an answer.

Okay, she admitted earlier that she had been rude to him. She may have also said other things she wasn't proud of now, and she knew she was wrong for that, but that doesn't mean she had to go out with him either.

In fact, she didn't want to date anyone now. Especially someone who wouldn't have a chance of a future. Damn, there she was judging again. She needed to stop doing that.

But well, she had agreed that she would go out with him. If there was something Rory Gilmore hated more than herself at that moment, and Logan, it was breaking a promise. Even if it was for a guy who shouldn't even be at her house in the first place.

She had to remember this wasn't a real date. Logan had agreed they would only be talking. She didn't know what they had to talk about and in fact didn't understand what he wanted from her.

She got off the bed to look at herself in the glass. No make-up today; if he wanted to go out with her, he'd go out with the girl she really was. She'd definitely not to get all dressed up for some random guy.

In the end, she pulled out a simple dress with fluid lines, which slipped over her head and fell to her knees. Paris was right—she'd lost weight somehow, not surprising with all she was going through.

The dress skimmed her body, and she felt loose and free in it. She scrabbled through the dark closet looking for shoes and came up with a pair of strappy low-heeled sandals that would do the trick—after she blew the dust off them. A shawl against the cool night air of September completed the outfit.

One more glance in the mirror and she was leaving the room. Rory reached over to pull her keys out of her purse and took a quick glance at Logan only to find him staring at her, amusement on his face. She was trying to be a nice girl, but that look could only tell her she'd have a hard time to put up a front the whole night. "Has anyone told you you're pushy?"

"Has anyone told you that you're incredibly cute when you're peeved?" He changed the subject with a smirk which made her scowl at him weakly.

"Whatever, let's get over with this already."

Logan beamed, his face bright with amusement. Seeing her annoyance only made him beam harder. He knew it would take a lot of effort to please this girl, but as he had expected, it was good to have a challenge. And everything with Rory was a challenge.

Holding his sides and breathing hard, he gave her an once-over and offered immediate approval. "You look beautiful, tonight."

Rory scoffed disdainfully. "You say that to all girls you go out with?"

"Yes, but this time I really mean it."

She rose her eyebrows even higher. "Is that also another famous Logan line?"

"Yes, but this time I really mean that too."

Okay. This could take a little while.

* * *

"First thing I'd like to make clear, this is not a real date."

"I thought we had already agreed on that."

"Good, I'm just making sure you won't try anything."

"I won't, but let me ask you that." He shifted in his chair. "What kind of date do you want it to be?" Logan asked.

"It's sort of a fake date. I'm here because I don't like to be unfair to anybody, and since you bragged about your skills and we have time to kill, I want to know what are your secret moves on a 'real date'." It had sounded okay when she'd said it in her head. Out loud it sounded ridiculous. She could hardly blame him for laughing.

"You are asking a magician to reveal his tricks."

"I'm asking you to make this evening worthy. Otherwise I'll tell everybody you got beat down by a girl."

He was amusingly surprised. "Blackmail is never the right answer." He sipped his drink and added, ironically. "But since you asked me nicely, I'll teach you something tonight." She pretended to be flattered, which motivated him to tease her once more. "Maybe you can learn how to pick guys that won't stand you up this time."

She would flash him her middle finger if they weren't in public, but instead she just nodded for him to go on. "I'll explain to you. In seven steps."

He adjusted his clothes, as if he was Jesus and she was one of his apostles. "My first move is _set my best impression_ and _pay attention to your body language clues_. I never show up late. It helps to create a strong impression."

"Really? I thought that was this shirt purpose."

"No, you're the one staring at my chest, it's on you."

"I'm not staring at you." Rory quickly reacted in self-defense, but he went on, fairly gurgling with pride.

"Yes you are. But that's ok if you do, Peaches. As soon as we get up to leave, I'm going to hold on that door for you and I'm going to check you out too."

"Aren't you a gentleman."

He flashed a set of perfectly white teeth. "Glad you recognize that."

She did her best to keep her face unreadable. If they were playing that game, at least she would give him some challenge. "What else does my body language say?"

Without any explanation, he motioned for the waiter to come. "The lady would like to order."

Rory glanced at the menu quickly and ordered anything. She was just too curious to know what he had to say that she forgot they were in a restaurant. Probably the first time she ever forgot about food. "How did you know I was hungry?"

"I didn't know until you smelled the pizza."

"That doesn't prove anything." Rory said, for at least the third or fourth time since he started smiling smugly at her.

"True, but I still noticed. And what I get from your behavior makes me decide how should I talk to you on step two."

Rory was holding a menu of amazing pizzas and couldn't stop looking at him. "What's the step two?"

He leaned over the table. So did Rory, like she was about to hear a big secret. "I always make _real compliments_." He carefully scanned each detail of her face before smiling, looking at her and saying with a mischievous grin. "When I told you look pretty tonight, that was true."

"You admitted you say that to all the girls."

"True, but always in a different way. You looked like you were about to punch me when we left your dorm and by the way you always try to push me away, I knew exactly what I had to say to compliment you."

She crossed her arms. "You needed all this math to come up with the word _beautiful_?"

"Sure, if you were all over me, I'd rather compliment your body instead." His eyes purposefully scanned her body like a heat sensor. "Nice legs." He delivered and gazed directly at her eyes.

She knew he wanted her to know he was checking her out. And worse, she kind of liked it. The wave of heat swelled up within her and she quickly moved to hide her legs behind the table, as if the image of her bare legs weren't already burned into his memory.

With a sigh she leaned back in her chair and sat quietly, to compose herself. "I don't believe that, I haven't fixed myself up for _you_."

He followed her movement and shrugged, clasping his hands together in his lap. "I know that, but it wouldn't have made any difference."

"Does it mean I'm beautiful without my make up or that I'm still ugly with make up on?"

"Come on, Rory. I think you can answer this one." She broke their gaze and held the wad of napkins out towards him; mortified. "Funny is, I never know if you're really telling the truth."

"Unlike you, I never lie." He attested confidently. She studied his face and couldn't tell if he was lying. It made the temptation to pursue the topic stronger, but that would be dangerous territory. "Let's move on from that. What's the step three?"

Logan smiled because he knew she was trying to change the subject. "Step three: I'll give you _full attention_. No texts, no calls. If I'm here with you, I'll give you all my time." He pointed to his phone with the screen facing down on the table.

Rory raised an eyebrow. She kind of appreciated that.

Arguing with Logan was quite futile and, at the time, he seemed to have all the answers. He had a sharp mind and had obviously been exploring social relationships for a longer time than her.

She didn't understand how he had so much time to kill, though. He had a chance to have a world class education handed to him for, but he didn't seem to care. How could he and Jess be friends in the first place?

"Why are you like that?"

"I assume you're not talking about my physical beauty."

"No, I'm not," She breathed over the fiercely throbbing vein in her neck. She'd try again. "I mean, why do you act like that?"

"Do you want the polite answer or the true answer?"

"This may be a mistake, but I'll go with the second option."

"So here it goes - I'm young, I have money to piss it all away and I'm very aware I'm living in the 1% of a lucky minority. I'm not in a hurry to live the serious world, 'cause when it starts, my life will never be like this again."

It was a little pretentious. Even an asshole, but bold enough to tell the truth. He wasn't set up for bullshit. She had to give him that. "This is the saddest thing I ever heard."

"Life isn't a fairy tale, Rory."

"I surely know that, but I don't get what you want from me. We have nothing in common and still you seem to believe whatever is happening here is a good idea."

"That's all you got out of it?"

"You talk to me like I'm some kind of snow flake. I'm not the girl you think I am." She lowered her voice, as if contemplating it for herself. It was supposed to be an answer, but it seemed more like a confession to herself. "Or that Jess thinks."

"You're not the worst girl around either. In fact, I'm struggling to think of one purer than you."

"I'm not so sure about that." She looked downcast. He could have sworn he saw some sign of sadness and shame in her eyes. As if some bad memory was flashing across her eyes.

"Hey, I've also done things I'm not proud of. You are young. That's when you're allowed to make mistakes."

She knew that he was trying to comfort her, to ease her pain. "I've made really huge mistakes, Logan."

"Give me your best shot."

"I lost my virginity to my married ex-boyfriend and broke his marriage down."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Logan tried to disguise his surprise, but his eyes gave everything away. Holy shit, that was really bad. He wasn't expecting for that at all. "See, _even_ _you_ are disgusted by me."

He frowned at what she meant by _even_ him but let it slide. "You're not disgusting, plus who am I to judge you? I'm not a saint either."

"Let me guess, you cheated on a girlfriend."

"I've never had a girlfriend." He reaffirmed, as if it were no big deal. Huh. She didn't know why she was surprised. That made sense.

"So you never had a girlfriend, but I did have a one night stand." Logan scrunched his brows together as if asking her what her point was. She clarified. "That means I'm more experienced than you."

He snorted disdainfully. "If you say so."

"How many girls have you slept with?"

"Next question." He flinched, sort of downplaying the question. She was not sure if it didn't matter or if it was math he couldn't even do. "Oh, come on! You really think I'm going to believe you're not the type of guy who has a list?"

"I don't. My list is my phone book."

"You've sleep with all the girls there?"

"Of course not. My Mom and my sister are there for God's sake. And I don't have your number."

"I don't want be in your list."

"Except that if I had a list, you'd be already there."

"I know, my life is a joke. I slept with a guy I had never met before in my whole life. What was I thinking?"

"I don't know, you slept with your married ex-boyfriend."

He hoped she would give him some snarky come back, he wouldn't have blamed her if she had stalked off in a temper, but instead she couldn't hold a laughter. "Cheap shot!"

Her beautiful smile also cracked him up and when they realized, they were chuckling together. "Sorry." He said between the laughs but they chuckled together again, shaking their heads and looking away from one another momentarily.

She allowed herself to laugh for a moment, to laugh at herself. And it felt good. "Seriously, you could have been a rapist, or a murderer."

He frowned at her words, but couldn't blame her at all. A quick glance at the news would prove her right. "Worse, you could have been the Headmaster and kick me out of the school for drinking under age."

"You should check the meaning of _worse_ in your dictionary."

The tone of the conversation and laughter, fading now, didn't change and Logan felt like he should tell her something more. "That was a pretty good night, Rory." He told her lightly, but in fact he wanted to know from her mouth how she felt.

He really wanted to know. He wanted her to have enjoyed it as much as he did. But he didn't want to sound too invested in her response. To his surprise and relief, she flashed a tiny and sexy smile. "I know. It was the stuff of daydreams."

They shared a smile. And in spite of his concerns, Logan again felt that peculiar connection he had never shared with anyone else while Rory was trying to recall what did convince her to keep opening herself to him like this again. "I can't believe that was really me." She giggled at herself and then looked at him. "You're definitely the man to have a one-night stand with."

For no good reason something bothered him about her words. Not that they weren't sincere—since he was convinced they were. She seemed to really appreciate him.

But it bothered him that she was so sure he could only be one-night-stand material.

She was right. That was all he was. But at the moment the idea nagged at him, enough to get in the way of his physical enjoyment.

"But I'm not sure I'll do that sort of thing again," she went on.

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, I might not have such a good experience with someone else. And for another..." She hesitated.

"What?"

"I had an amazing time. And this isn't at all a complaint. But most of the time, I'll want more than this."

He nodded silently, understanding immediately what she meant.

He didn't blame her for saying it, for feeling it, but the soft look in her eyes disappeared, replaced by something else, something he didn't understand.

What the hell had just happened?

He could swear she'd been into him. Totally into him. He wasn't a fool, and he knew how to recognize it. And now it was like she'd just shut down.

He didn't want her to shut down on him. He wanted her all soft and flushed like she'd been before, but he knew the moment was gone.

"So..." She shifted in her chair, straightening her back in readiness for his next move. "What's the step four?"

He followed her movement and added. "That'd be _know your audience_."

"You brought me to a pizza place".

"Yeah, you're not the kind of girl who thinks she's worth the same amount of money I spend on them on a date."

"You mean the girls who fall on your feet because you're rich and your family has money."

The corners of his lips kicked up. "These are the girls I don't have to bring to a date. Not exactly a slow burn."

"Don't you feel ashamed to treat women as objects?"

"No, because that's step 5: I'm _honest and straightforward_. I never try to lure a girl to some misunderstanding. No romantic moves, no holding hands, no promises. It is what it is."

And that's when she replayed that night in her mind like a movie. He hadn't held her hand, or hugged her intimately. And somehow, she didn't expect that.

"That's the same thing."

"No, it's not. Not every girl is looking for a relationship."

He shrugged and said, "The girls I get involved with are looking for the same things as I am. That's nothing wrong about that. You should open your mind a little."

Her head shot up. She opened her mouth to speak, then clamped it shut.

"You were about to say something." Logan prodded.

She shook her bent head and stared at her plate. "Maybe you're right."

Logan admired the shimmering brilliance of her hair as the light danced over it. Her eyes seemed so contrite, so full of doubts and concern, he almost wanted to hold her. Which was weird. No misleading and romantic moves.

Rory picked her fork and began toying with her food. "How do you do that?"

"By keeping it casual." He said.

She smiled and nodded. Time to make a little prying. "Which is step six?"

"You're a quick learner, Ace. I like that."

"That's why I'm in college." She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Weird lessons, though."

He couldn't help but be amused, but the time on the clock indicated that it was time to leave the place. He paid the check, left a tip, and thanked the waitress.

She wasn't able to watch the time go by. She also wasn't able to slip past his gallantry as he helped her put on her jacket and held the door for her and beamed playfully at her. She writhed beneath his eyes, caught in a strange place between laughter and longing, and not entirely sure she sought escape. "Go ahead," He said, behind her.

He was purposefully waiting for her to leave first, with a sly grin on his face as they ventured into the slightly cooled night. She felt a little shiver going down her spine as she brushed past him. She could smell his cologne, which reminded her of things that perhaps she should try to forget.

* * *

On the way back to her dorm, Rory fell silent. Logan was somewhat disappointed she didn't say much about herself. More than anything he wanted to get to know her a little better.

The truth was, Rory didn't know what to say. The more she spent time with him and got to know him, the more she convinced herself she enjoyed being with him. She couldn't deny the chemistry between them, which only made her remember how good they'd been in the bedroom. And that was exactly the problem.

Logan was supposed to have been a one-night stand. Things had gotten complicated because of the fact that he was also Jess's friend and she wanted to uncomplicate it by avoiding him and moving on with her life.

And yet, as she looked in his direction where he once again was holding that little grin on his face, she felt a little tug in her heart. And if she would be honest to herself, she wasn't ready to get rid of him yet.

He was fun to be around, God he could be a dick sometimes, but he made her laugh. And she couldn't tell why, but something about him was alluring. The confident way he talked, the way he wanted to live. That. Maybe she wanted that. She felt like she had an entire life to discover and the only thing she had to do was let him show her.

They reached her door and stood in there for a few moments. Rory planned to tell him good-night and go inside alone all way back, but she remembered he had say he'd follow seven steps in this fake date.

So long, she had only counted six. She was too curious not to try and find out. "So, what's your last move in the end of a date?"

He shot her a look that told her she might regret asking that. "I take it slow when I make the first physical move."

She swallowed hard, but continued in little more than a whisper. "Oh, this one is easy." She ordered herself to calm down as she felt the space between getting smaller. "You'd lean and kiss me good night, tell me that was nice and we should do it again some other time."

"Oh, no, Ace." He smiled earnestly. "If that was a real date, I wouldn't plan to kiss you good night. I would plan to kiss you good morning, instead." He rose one eyebrow when he saw her emerge and she raised her own. "But yeah, we'd start with a kiss and we'd slowly go from there. Consenting partner, of course."

She was intrigued. "Really?"

"Yeah..." Logan closed the small gap between them. Determined to prove that he wasn't having an effect on her, she boldly looked up into his eyes as his frame towered over her.

She couldn't sustain that for so long, though. He breathed in her scent and she slowly closed her eyes. "I'd make you relax and be confident but not overly aggressive." He said as he brushed her face with his finger earning a soft involuntarily gasp from her. "I'd maintain eye contact, I'd lean in and pause when our faces were close before I'd go any further, just to make sure you'd be also interested in a kiss."

A sly smile quirked at the corner of his mouth when he felt her slightly moving into him. She was almost leaning in to take a long sniff when she caught herself, and just looked up into his eyes.

He stopped, holding his grin wide on his face. And in that brief, sweet moment, she realized he'd leave her longing for more, with that sparkling sensation washing through her. When had she ever felt that way? Dazed, she tried to collect her thoughts, but she was lost in his half little smile that deepened just one of his dimples. She felt him pulling away, turning on his heels as he winked. "The rest, you already know."

* * *

**A/N:** So, what you think? I think Rory's getting a little shaken up.

Probably I won't be able to update the story next week, but who knows, right?


	6. CHAPTER 6 – With The Help Of My Friends

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls. If I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N:** Happy new year, my dears! I know I have been a little absent here, but I have been very busy at work. Also, I admit my mind isn't that focused on writing right now. I hope you had a great holiday and enjoy the new chapter! Please review.

* * *

**CHAPTER 6 – WITH THE HELP OF MY FRIENDS**

* * *

"Tonight's dinner was made especially for you, Rory. You look too fragile. A girl can't survive on cereal." Emily announced as Rory arranged the napkin on her lap.

That was typical Friday night dinner. Except Rory hadn't shown her face in her grandparent's house for the past two months.

"I have been eating right."

"Lorelai's kind of _right_?" Neither Rory nor her mother spoke, but waited on the maid to set the table and leave the parlor. Grilled mushrooms with smoked duck.

Lorelai and Rory exchanged a mutual disgust look. God. Why they couldn't have a regular steak for a change?

It was so stressful to try to remember the correct cutlery to use, so she tried to follow her grandpa.

"So, Rory. What brings you back to the elderly house?" asked her grandmother, sarcastically.

Rory resisted the urge to roll her eyes like she'd seen her mother do more times than she could count that night. "I really missed being with my family".

"Really?" Emily folded her arms suspiciously, eyeing her. Rory tried to come up with something, but was shortly saved by her grandfather.

"Emily, cut her some slack. Rory is a college student. I'm sure she's very busy making contacts and enjoying the moment." He nodded while giving her two thumbs up.

Rory would have liked to agree with him, but since that couldn't be further from the truth, she couldn't lie to her own grandfather. Even if what she had to say would mostly likely to crush him. "No, grandma is right." She let out of steam. "Actually, I do have something to tell you."

Richard frowned. "What? Is something wrong with the food? Is that roommate of yours driving you crazy again?"

Yes, to both questions, she silently told herself, but maybe it was best to let that part out. "Nothing about that. I'll tell you all about that later. Right now there's something I need you all to know about me."

Her family laid their forks against the plates, eyeing each other.

"Is she a lesbian?" Richard whispered to Emily. "Is this one of those coming out things where she's going to tell the whole family at once?"

Lorelai scolded at them. "Would you just let her talk?"

"Rory isn't a lesbian," Her grandmother interrupted her again. "I'd have known about it years ago if that were the case."

Rory rolled her eyes and waited for her family to finish talking about her like if she wasn't there. "And you all wonder why I never tell you anything."

"You're not going to tell us you're pregnant, are you?" Richard asked. "Because I don't want to have to kick that really tall boy's ass over this."

"Go ahead, honey," her mother said. "We're behind you one hundred percent."

Rory looked at the smoked duck on the table. It was the first time she wanted to be in the duck's place, but decided to suck in a breath and let it out. "I'm considering taking a break from school."

The silence spread, an uncomfortable, palpable void. Maybe long-avoided discussions between families in a Friday night dinner were not such a good idea after all. For a minute, only the sound of cutlery and gaping mouths could be heard. Rory could feel their eyes boring into her skin, burning. And when she finally had the courage to look at her mother, she knew she would regret having ever said that.

"I don't understand."

"I said," Rory's voice failed her momentarily, "Maybe I should take a break from school." Her mother looked at her, as if to say, "And what?", and Rory saw the depth of her pain and confusion. "Mom, please don't make this harder than it already is."

Hell, yes, she was going to make this harder. Lorelai widened her stance and placed her hands on her hips. "Rory this can't get any harder than you've already made it. Or any worse. I want to know why. You owe me that."

Rory's heart was beating fast and she was on the verge of tears, but she sucked in some air and pulled herself out of it.

"I need a break to figure out what I want." She kept her voice soft - or as soft as she could manage when it felt as if she'd sucked down a truckload of gravel.

Conflicted didn't begin to cover how Lorelai felt about the news. The guilty in Rory's eyes was also evident. The idea of her family hurt or even inconvenienced because of her was horrible.

"Are you telling me you're going to throw away your future? Everything we dedicated our lives to make it happen?"

"I'm not. I just need to think."

"Is this about Dean? Are you willing to give up on your dreams because of a boy? I thought you had reasons to believe this is a bad idea."

"This is not about Dean. It's about me. How do I know this is my dream? As far as I am concerned, this is your dream. You wanting me to live the life you couldn't live."

"And you should be thanking me for that."

"See? You always tell me how to feel, Mom. I need to see who I am beside that. The plan." Rory scrambled up from the table, throwing her napkin forward, which plunged right into the sauce.

"Look at that... " Emily cried out as she watched her fancy white silk napkins covered in tomato sauce. "Now it's going to stain."

As her grandmother rose in despair, as if a tragedy had happened, Rory noticed that was her clue to leave.

"I'm sorry." Rory whispered, looking from her grandmother's sad eyes to her mother's angry ones. Their disappointment only heightened the anxious butterflies in her stomach. Not butterflies. Pigeons. Nasty dirty pigeons pecking and scratching and clawing her from inside out.

She deserved to be clawed at the inside. At least she felt so.

* * *

Rory walked around the campus at night. She just wanted to be alone and she knew exactly where to go.

As she approached her tree, she couldn't hold the sobs in any longer and she let herself cry. Not loudly, but deeply. She sat there, shaking with sobs, and let her head fall. She let the humiliation wash over her from top to bottom, up from her toes and down her cheeks as she held her knees and rocked her body back and forth.

She had given up wiping at her tired, waterlogged eyes, when she heard a voice. "Are you okay?" She looked up and into his eyes. His eyes were kind, but his expression concerned.

"Oh no, Logan. This isn't a good time for me."

"I kind of figured out."

She hid her face in her hands for a moment, before looking up again at him. "Yeah, how smart of you, so please just go away."

"You know, this is a public space."

"So that means I have to leave if want to have a moment for myself?" She kept her head down; she didn't want him to see her crying. But he crouched down low, so she had to look at him again. "If you want a moment for yourself, why are you crying in here where anyone can see you instead of your room?"

"Because I don't want to see Paris and honestly I have nowhere else to go... Why am I even bothering to explain myself to you?"

"You tell me..."

"No... just leave me alone, please. You probably have better things to do."

"Why do you always assume I have something better to do?"

"Because anything is better than stay here listening to some weepy girl, bitch about her sad life."

He thought for a second. "That's true, but I can make an exception for you."

Logan waited for a moment. He could see her mind working at something, but she wasn't saying anything, so maybe he should insist a little more. "Come on... Why are you crying?"

"You really don't want to do this."

"Let's agree that I know better what I want. Now, tell me what happened." He tried again, but she was still resisting, even though he had reason to believe her flood wall was about to come crashing down. He just had to flash her that charming smile he was always so proud of.

Almost letting a tiny smile show at his friendliness, she looked at him, like if she wasn't that angry anymore. Then he lightly poked her at the ribs and now she was immersed in his alluring smile. "Please, Ace."

And there it was. That silly smile betraying her. "Okay, it's your funeral then, but I'm telling you," She pointed a warning finger at him, "You're not getting anything back from me."

He sat down right beside her and his knee brushed against her own, "I'll make two exceptions for you then."

Rory cleared her throat then as he was waiting to hear what she had to say. She stared directly out at him, her eyes level, tears brimming, rolling steadily down her cheeks. She did not bother to wipe them away this time. "I want to quit."

"Quit what? Here?"

"Yeah"

"Are you crazy? Why?" His tone was the same non-patronizing tone he had used on her earlier. Very different from her family. Still, that wasn't what she wanted to hear at all.

"See, that's what everybody's been saying."

"Maybe they have a point."

"No, I just want to know if I have any other options in life outside being the smart-straight A's girl. Nobody seems to understand that."

"I understand that and I'm not quitting school. If you want to try new things, I can take you to hang out with my friends; you just have to take your mind out of your problems for a while."

She snorted disdainfully. "I can't hang out with your friends."

"Why not? A little fun doesn't harm anyone. I thought you said you wanted to try new things."

"Stop using my words against me."

"I'm not, I just think it's an option whilst you think this decision through. It's a pretty big decision anyways, don't you think? You shouldn't make it while you're that upset."

She contemplated what to say next. "It does make sense."

"I know you're going to say I don't know you and blah blah blah."

She looked at him in surprise. That sounded like her. "See? You're not that mysterious." Rory was about to object, when Logan quickly interjected. "I'm not saying you're predictable either. I'm just saying you should give this idea another thought."

She considered his answer and her lips twitched. "You think fast on your feet."

He simulated a celebration. "Thank you. Did I make you feel better?"

She mentally nodded at him, a little smile creeping over her face. "You did. Thanks."

"Good, so are you gonna think about it?" His voice was comforting, gentle yet strong, even more appealing than she wanted it to be. "Logan, you seem to be a nice guy, but I have to ask. Why do you like me?"

He suppressed a smile. "Do I have any reason to dislike you?"

"More than reasons to like me, for sure."

"Let's just say I believe you're just going through a hard time. This is not really you."

She held her knees and mopped her eyes with her sleeve. "I am going through a hard time. Maybe I should get some rest."

"You can crash at my place, if you want to."

She shot him a warily look, which made him react right away. "No secret intentions."

"You promise?" He kissed his finger and crossed his heart. "I promise. Just… take a nap or something. You're going to feel better."

"Thank you."

Logan got up on his feet and gave her a hand up. He stared at her, then gestured his head like, 'Come on'. Still, he sensed her slight hesitation like if her feet were glued to the floor. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… it's just," She stared at her feet long enough, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. "You know, my life is a mess. I never had a fight with my Mom like this. I'm missing her already and how normally my life used to be." She admitted sheepishly. "I don't expect you to be fond about the heart to heart stuff, but I feel... Alone, and I could really use a friend right now."

At that point he might consider himself used to seeing her a little insecure. At first, he couldn't tell if the way she nibbled her lower lips when she was embarrassed was weird or cute. But now that he has reconsidered the idea, it was cute. Definitely cute. "I can be your friend."

"Really? _You_?"

"Ouch!"

"No, I mean." She shook it off. "Don't you have a lot of friends?"

"Yeah, but there is always room for one more."

"I don't wanna be your pity friend."

"You won't be. You'll be my voluntary, nerd friend."

"And what would you get out of it?"

"Having someone to copy the notes when I'm hungover? I'm sure this will be a successful friendship."

Her face lighted up softly and looked quite young and radiant. "I'll think about it."

He sank his hand on his pocket. "Good..."

"So, is the nap offer still up?"

"Sure, Ace."

She wiped the dirt off her pants and finally followed him. "You'll have to stop calling me that if you want us to be friends."

"That we'll have to negotiate."

"Okay…" She pretended to be considering his offer and continued. "If you don't stop, I'll tell everybody about that day in the alley."

Yeah, that was an irrefutable argument. "Consider it done."

* * *

Logan's bedroom door had been locked all night and for most part of the morning. It was weird to think there was a girl lying in his bed and he wasn't invited in. That was definitely new to him, just like sleeping on the living room's couch. Tonight had gone into history twice, especially for that evil backache that promised to last.

Amazingly, this was not the hardest part. He had to order his brain to behave many times. All of them while he took turns between wondering how she was sleeping and what in the world they would talk about it when she wake up. He knew that was very dangerous territory, after all he had promised to be a nice guy and have no ulterior motives.

It was almost like she could hear his thoughts because the next sound he heard was the door opening. He pushed the thought out of his mind and said, "Hey there. You okay?"

She was still standing there, looking tired and strangely defeated.

He saw what happened. He saw her make herself straighten up. He saw her force a smile on her face. He saw her put on a pose for him rather than acting the way she really felt.

"Yeah," she said in an almost convincing tone. "I'm fine." She walked over to the kitchen area, her eyes taking in his jeans, T-shirt, and bare feet.

That knowledge wasn't good for his own attempt to keep his mind on the straight and narrow.

He reminded himself he was going to be a nice guy. He wasn't going to be pushy and try to get her into bed again when that wasn't what she wanted.

When she slipped behind a stool at the counter, he was ridiculously pleased. It seemed like she was actually going to hang out with him that morning.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked lightly, noticing again that when she thought he wasn't looking, her eyes were heavy and her expression was tired. "Eh."

"What does 'eh' mean?"

"It means... 'eh'."

"Does that mean you're feeling 'eh' or your desire to talk to me about it is 'eh'?" He grabbed a milk cart from the fridge and set two cups on the counter. He poured the drink out and prompted, "You never answered my question."

Rory was silent for a minute until she accepted the glass of milk he offered her. After taking a sip, she said, "I guess both. I'm feeling 'eh'. Telling you about it is 'eh'."

"I thought we got along pretty well. Before, I mean." He spoke as lightly as he could, although he was seriously invested in her response.

Far too invested. It triggered little alarm bells in the back of his mind.

Being invested meant he was vulnerable.

"I know," Rory said softly. "We did get along."

"But?"

She opened her mouth. Closed again. Then said, slightly hoarse, "I keep thinking about you and sex."

He was briefly surprised she was so direct, so honest. Then he realized he shouldn't be surprised. She had done it before.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked, trying to keep the edge of heat out of his voice but not entirely succeeding.

Her cheeks flushed again, more deeply this time, and she dropped her eyes as she sipped her drink. "You know what's wrong with that. We don't... we don't want the same things. I don't even know what I want, to be fair, but you and I are supposed to be friends, maximum."

She was right. She was entirely right. He felt an intense kick of disappointment at that acknowledgment, and his voice reflected it as he replied, "I guess we do."

"So it wouldn't be smart for us to have sex again, but it's hard for me to... to not think about it."

He was glad he wasn't the only one whose thoughts kept going astray. "Yeah. I know the feeling."

Her eyes darted up and then back down, and she blushed even more.

He took a deep breath, pushing past the sudden urge to grab her, kiss her. "Rory, I have to ask you what's your deal with Jess. So maybe we could still... talk about that."

This time when her eyes lifted, she held his gaze. "I'd like to."

"So why don't we try?"

She took a deep breath and filled him in. She told him everything since her relationship with Dean until now.

That was complicated. More complicated than he had imagined. And that was a mess he certainly shouldn't get into. "So you and Jess had a brief relationship."

She nodded. "Yeah, but it was intense. Sometimes I think it was kind of a mistake."

Logan snorted, almost pitifully. "Wow."

"I mean, I like Jess, but I think we work better as friends."

"Yeah, but does he?" And that was it again. "Why do you keep suggesting he likes me?"

"Because I keep having that feeling somehow he's still into you."

She put on a face. Maybe she had something more to say. "He reached me a few months ago and told me about his feelings, but I chose Dean. We never spoke about that again."

"Poor guy."

She answered as if she was talking to herself. "It's not like that. And Jess goes out with other girls too. I don't think he's hung up on me. Why he'd be?"

"I have a long list for that."

Rory paused with her glass midway between the table and her mouth. "See? That's it." She pointed at him. "That's why I always keep thinking about you and sex. You always seem to be slightly hitting on me."

He threw the dishcloth over his shoulder, placed his hands on the table in front of her, and faced her. "Why would I be hitting on you?"

"Because you are. Aren't you?"

"If you have to ask I must not be doing right."

Before she answered, she noticed that stupid teasing smirk on his face. She wasn't about to fall for that. He was always testing her, wasn't he? Maybe testing himself, as well. He broke their gaze and wiped the table again. "Relax, Rory. Trust me; you'd know if I were hitting on you."

She nodded thoughtfully. "We're attracted to each other. Would that be an accurate reading?"

Logan didn't need to ponder the question. "It's dead-on from my end, but... "

"But what?"

"I don't date chicks whose my friends might be interested in."

She almost sounded disappointed. "Okay..."

"So I think we have to establish some ground rules."

"So that means you want to... to be friends?" Her expression was genuine, hopeful.

He nodded. He wanted a lot more than that, but life didn't always offer what you really wanted. He'd learned that a long time ago. Better to just go with the flow, ride the tide, let things happen to you. This was happening now, so he let it. "Yeah. If that's okay with you."

"I'd like that." She smiled at him. "I'm sure eventually I'll stop thinking about having sex with you."

He almost choked in his effort to hold back the loaded comment he wanted to make in response.

He'd gotten himself together with a firm, mental lecture about controlling his ridiculous lust when he turned back to pick up his drink. "Friends it is. No touching. No talk about sex."

"No talking about that night either. It could tempt us to break the other rules."

"Deal." He reached out to place his hand in hers. She glanced down at the outstretched hand in front of her, but another idea came to her mind. "Want to seal the deal with a hug since now we're friends?"

"I have no objections to a hug." He smiled and tugged her up against him as she laid her head on his shoulder.

He smiled into her hair as he realized maybe he had tried to take his mind off that weird little tingle that felt so new to him, but as he breathed deeply, inhaling her intoxicating scent, he sighed with pleasure.

Interesting.

That felt strange to him, but he had nothing to worry about, right? It was going be okay.

He got that.

He got her.

What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

**A/N:** So Rory and Logan are real friends now! Starting from here, I can begin to introduce her into his world and work on some conflicts in her relationships. I've been trying to write the next chapter for a while now. It's going to be a tough one. I can't promise you guys when I'm going to update again. I just hope it won't take so long. For now, I would like to hear what you think of this chapter, so please press the button below cause I'm eager to know :)


	7. Chapter 7 - Get the Party Started

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls. If I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Finally! You asked, here it is. I've wrote this chapter to give you guys a background on Jess's life. And how are Jess and Logan friends, after all? Now, little by little, you're gonna find some answers.

I'm honored and happy to announce that I finally managed to answer (almost) all of my reviews. Not only "Taking a Shot" reviews, but also from "Until I Heal". For my readers that I cannot reply to comments, I'd like you to know that I have the same appreciation for your participation and encouragement.

I'm glad you keep reading this story! Please review this chapter!

* * *

**CHAPTER 7 – GET THE PARTY STARTED**

* * *

"He'll be getting home any minute now."

The party planner looked at her and paced around the room taking care of the last details.

Rory's lazy lungs could no longer handle blowing up the balloons as Logan tied the necks with a thread to a stick. "Sometimes I feel Chloe and Paris would be great friends."

"I don't know..." Logan shrugged. "Chloe is nice".

Rory rose her brows. "I think someone has a crush on Chloe."

"No, I don't." Logan said with a tight smile, as if wasn't a big deal. But it was a big deal, to her anyway. "So why are you siding with her on this?"

"When you work in this business, you have to be a little aggressive. Chloe is nice and passionate about what she does."

"Paris is passionate and you don't like her."

"Your roommate made me take your trash out and called me a dickhead last weekend."

"She's mean to everybody don't be flattered, but it doesn't mean she isn't passionate about stuff she cares about."

Maybe she had a point. But Logan let it slide because it wasn't worth the discussion anyway. They were almost finishing the decoration as he watched Rory's eyes still lingering on Chloe. "What?"

Rory suddenly was out of her reveries as if someone had snapped the fingers next to her ears. "Nothing... It's just... Jess really likes her."

Logan motioned his eyes to the girl they have been talking about. "I like her too."

Rory nodded silently and Logan noticed that wasn't the answer she was looking for. He needed another heartbeat or two to figure out the sort of answer she did want. "Is that a problem?"

She had to think before answering that one.

Chloe was Jess's assistant at the publishing house he was working. Over the last few months, they have gotten very close and Jess credited much of his accomplishments to her work.

Ever since Mitchum Huntzberger acquired the publisher, Logan had bond with his father's new employees.

The three of them could spend hours talking about books and stories they knew about. Logan's adventures even served as inspiration for new tales.

If only Logan had the dedication and commitment to write, instead of abusing parties, among other things that held back his potential, they would make a great team.

Rory, on the other hand, had only seen her a couple of times, but she was struck by the way she was always dedicated to helping Jess. A little too much, maybe.

Not that she didn't like Chloe — The girl was smart and even sweet, she admitted. But sometimes she missed having Jess's attention. She felt like his new life didn't have much room for her in it. And she really needed her friend.

So that was her political answer. "No, it's not a problem. I just wish I got to see Jess more often. It's just that."

That didn't stick, but he pretended to accept her explanation.

"Ok, he's coming." Chloe announced as she noticed Jess's car coming into the garage. "Quick, everybody hide and hush up."

Suddenly the lights were out and all they could listen was the sound of the keys in the lock.

It was a very tiring day, as always. The only thing Jess wanted was to throw himself on the bed and relax with a beer in his hand, but his will was interrupted by a chorus of voices yelling, "Surprise!" all laughing and talking at once, telling him he looked like warmed-over toast.

Everyone was on him, shaking his hands, slapping him on the back and the women kissing his cheeks.

Finally, there was Chloe, the one who made that happen grinning up at him beside a chocolate cake that looked nothing less than delicious.

He hugged her and high-fived the other closer friends, until his eyes met Rory and Logan both smiling at him. Side by side.

Weird.

"Hey, happy birthday!" Rory casually greeted him as she pulled in for a hug. Right behind her, he could see Logan waiting for his turn to talk to the birthday boy.

"Congratulations!" the two boys slapped each other on the backs, still holding a smile.

"Thank you!" Jess answered softly as he switched his eyes between Rory and Logan.

As much as he was thankful for almost every people in the world he cared about to be there, for a while he could only think of how the hell the two of them seemed so close.

"So, I see you two met after all." Jess said, trying to convey a nonchalant tone to the conversation. Still, Rory froze like if every muscle in her body had been siphoned out.

She didn't know why. There was nothing wrong with that. Jess didn't know about them. What they did. And Logan had promised never tell him. It was fine. She just had to act fine.

"Yes, we did." She answered while she noticed Jess looking at them kind of curiously.

"Anyway, thank you for being here, both of you." Jess said as he caught Chloe approaching and reinforcing his words. She was relieved everything had gone well. So Chloe added, addressing the guests.

"The party is really in full swing. There's food and drink just up the stairs. Logan, we bought your favorite drink."

"Wow, It's Jess's birthday, but the present is mine. I guess I can't say 'no' to that." He countered, smiling and excusing himself to leave. Rory watched as Logan and Chloe headed for the kitchen, still noticing how his left hand gently rested on the small of her back.

It looked like a friendly gesture. Logan was definitely friendly. But still she was also smelling a rat.

"So..." Jess initiated the conversation. Maybe both wanted to avoid the most controversial topic. "Where is Lorelai? I've noticed my uncle came alone." He scratched the back of his head and continued. "Guess she's not my biggest fan still."

"Oh, I think that's on me." Rory stared at the ground like if she was a true penitent as Jess was still waiting for her to clarify. "We're not exactly speaking. Long story..."

He nodded in understanding but his face showed concern. "You think you can fix that?"

"I hope so..."

"Don't worry." He lightly patted her on the back. "I'm sure you two will figure out whatever is going on."

That answer was a nice answer, but it still felt a little impersonal. Like something he would say to a stranger who began to vent with him on the subway.

Maybe she wanted to tell him how she really felt. About Dean. About her family. About how she was doing college wrong. About how she couldn't stand to share the same roof with Paris for another day. But how she would talk to him about all those things when she felt she was holding back a huge secret?

Using his ears to vent just to make her feel better and not being completely honest sounded selfish and hypocritical. She was really trying to outgrow that. "Hey, Jess. Can we talk some other time? I mean, if you have the time."

"Sure... I'll ask Chloe to check my schedule and we can grab a lunch."

Chloe.

She had that power over him.

* * *

Jess was circulating around his party guests. Being Saturday night, some other acquaintance of his friends had joined the little gathering, becoming a small crowd. In a couple of hours, the place was packing with all kind of people he didn't know.

In fact, just as Logan and Jess talked, two girls strolled by. One had her hair tied up in a high ponytail; she had a cute smile and big eyes. Pretty. Yet her friend was more attractive with her long hair and doll face.

"I've heard this is your birthday party?" Ponytail asked, while her friend smiled with a flirtatious twinkle in her eyes.

Yes, it was. Still, he had never seen any of those girls in his entire life. He decided to go along. "I am. And you are?"

"We came with Paul."

"Oh, right." He nodded politely, even though he had no idea who Paul was either. Since he hadn't give the girls any other information or demonstrated interest, both girls turned to talk to Logan, just making small talk.

Jess quickly searched for Rory in the room and realized she was low-key watching them from afar.

Jess knew Logan would have usually focused all his attention on the prettiest girl, but tonight he had a different agenda. He chatted up the ponytailed friend, completely ignoring Doll Face.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jess saw Doll Face's temporary confusion at being overlooked. Then the girl shrugged and turned to talk to the other tall guy standing next to her.

Jess was only half-following his conversation with Ponytail. He was too busy trying to figure out why Logan had blew off Doll Face. She was exactly his type, much more than Ponytail was. Or Chloe. Or... Rory.

Still, Logan seemed totally aware Jess found the situation odd. As if he was carefully paying the same attention on what was going on.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ponytail asked Logan.

"Yeah, sure," He lied.

"So what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Forget it. I think I need another drink. Or probably go check on my friend," She added when she noticed Doll face was gone.

Her tone suggested she didn't actually want to. Both boys read her imaginary subtitles: "I want you to tell me to ignore my friend and ask me to stay here." But for Jess's surprise Logan did nothing about it.

He waited for his friend to use one of his usual get-lucky lines. If he left with this girl, his relationship with Rory would end before it even started.

Instead, Logan just shrugged. "Sure," he said, lifting his glass to drain the last inch of his beer. "I'm heading home anyway."

Hit by the rejection, the girl left tight-lipped.

Jess was shocked and unnerved. It wasn't like Logan to pass on an opportunity like this.

"So..." Jess said after they left. "Those were pretty gorgeous girls."

Logan sighed. "Yes, they were."

"How come neither of them are heading home with you?"

"I promised to take Rory home." Logan felt that Jess's heart could stop at any minute if he wouldn't clarify what he meant. "To her dorm, I meant."

"Oh, so now you're passing on girls to give one of your friends a ride?"

Logan could feel his slightly ironic tone. "Hey, Jess. If you have a problem with my friendship with Rory, just come out with it and say so."

"I don't have a problem with that," Jess lied. "But I care about her and I don't want to see her get hurt."

Logan ignored his lie. "Listen, I get it. Rory is your friend and I got a reputation. But she's my friend too. I have my white gloves on." He lifted his hands and wiggled his fingers.

The conversation fell to silence for the first time as they sipped their drink, but it didn't endure. "I know you wanted me to head home with one of those girls. Did I pass the test?" Asked Logan.

Jess nodded stiffly and almost embarrassed. Logan was too smart for his own good, only he had no idea how badly Jess wanted him to fail, not pass.

* * *

Now they had taken a well-deserved break to enjoy Jess's birthday, it was time to roll up their sleeves and get out the brooms, mops and garbage bags. That's right. They had to clean up the mess that was always left behind after a good party.

There was still a long way to go when Rory and Logan, one of the last leftovers at the party, decided it was time for them to leave. Between sweeps and worried glances, Jess watched them.

Logan stood behind Rory, solicitously helping her with her coat, while she thanked him with a smile.

A kind of smile Jess hadn't seen in years. He thought about it. How did they do that? It all seemed so natural. They waved back once more and disappeared through the door.

Chloe tied a few more bags when she noticed Jess standing there. Reflective.

This was a sneak preview of what he would get. Watching Rory leave. He didn't much like the view. Chloe liked even less.

She thought he would be used to it by now, but apparently, he wasn't.

How many hells would he have to endure where she was concerned?

"You know there is something happening there, don't you?" Jess heard Chloe's voice lightly saying something he didn't even want to think about. And deep down, he didn't believe it to be true. "Between Logan and Rory?"

She nodded sympathetically.

"Well, I think this is the order of what can happen," He listed, making a scale with his hands. "Humanity take recycle seriously; Jews and Muslims spend the Christmas together; Free cancer cure; Rory dates Logan."

Chloe shook her head, laughing as if it were the most absurd thing she ever heard. "You're probably out of your mind."

He sensed her slightly ironic tone, but stood by his opinion. "Trust me, you don't know her. Rory is not a dating kind of girl. And Logan is not a boyfriend material kind of guy."

"You're right, I don't know her that well, but I know sexual tension when I see it. Don't fool yourself, Jess. He can be very persuasive when he wants to."

"Look, just because his charm worked on you, it doesn't mean it's going to work on her. She's Rory..."

Chloe couldn't believe what she had just heard. The way he talked about Rory, tenderly, saying her name. A kind of worship she hadn't ever seen it before. And probably what didn't let him see beyond the end of his nose. "Jess..."

He raised a hand, interrupting her. He wasn't interested in what she had to say. Really, at that point he just wanted to throw himself into that bed he had promised himself before. "I've heard you, Chloe. I think I'm going to bed."

He gave a second look at the door where his friends had left through with troubled eyes; his strength was momentarily failing him. He felt that he must either believe Chloe or believe Rory and Logan. Chloe had a reason to be skeptical, but he had a reason to believe his friends.

Trusting them. It was the best he could do.

* * *

**A/N: **Um. I think there is a conflict here!

I want to update the story next week, but I haven't finished some details of the next chapter yet. I would like you to tell me what you think of this chapter and what you expect from Chloe's influence on the relationship between Rory, Jess and Logan. Depending on your response, I may be able to update next Friday: Feb, 07th.


	8. Chapter 8 - Q and A

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls. If I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Another update!

I'm rethinking whether I should keep writing this story. I am telling you this because I feel that people's interest in"Gilmore Girls" fanfics has dropped too much and almost no one is reading and interacting here anymore. This is very sad, but it is also a bit of a discouraging for us, the writers. It takes a long time to finish a chapter and I'm constantly being so hard on myself reminding me to always update the story, but in the end it feels a little lonely. Perhaps it is time to stop.

This chapter introduces Rory to Logan's world.

* * *

**CHAPTER 8 – Q and A**

* * *

"Why are we here?"

Rory asked Logan as she followed him into some kind of dark cave-like room. "Now it's time I taught you how to play some pool."

They were walking in a random college bar she didn't even know existed. Cigarette smoke, beer, and cologne combined to make an unpleasant smell and Rory fought the urge to cover her nose. A band was playing a really bad version of "Good Riddance" on a small make shift stage as she felt like she was living the real college experience for first time in her life.

"Logan, are you sure they won't kick me out? I'm not old enough to drink."

"You don't have to drink, Ace." He assured her as they walked toward the bar, dodging the drunk people standing around almost bumping into them. She had other questions to ask, but Logan lost focus on their conversation when he spotted someone moving along in the crowd in their direction. Someone he seemed to be looking for.

"You guys are finally here." A tall, curly-haired blonde approached them with a bright smile and leaned to hug Logan. He hugged her back and kissed her cheeks. "Hello," He said. "Stephanie, this is Rory. Rory, Stephanie."

Rory shook her hand and noticed she wasn't trying to figure out who she was. Maybe she already knew. "Nice to meet you, Stephanie."

"Same here. Finally we have some girl in this group." Stephanie comment sounded like an outburst as she led them to where the guys were in the middle of a game. Stephanie saluted the three other guys who'd come with her to the bar as Logan introduced Rory to them. Colin, Finn and Robert.

The boys stared at her for a few seconds. It really was time to add another girl to the group. And that couldn't have been any clearer in the trio's face, reflecting on the late "hello" they said in unison.

Logan just hoped Finn wouldn't say something stupid. Instead, he just asked. "So are we playing or not?"

"Yeah," Logan was relieved. "I just have to give Ace a quick lesson."

"What?"

"You don't know how to play pool, do you?"

"No..."

Logan chuckled and led her over to an empty pool table. He glanced over at the bar and gave someone a little nod then grabbed two pool sticks and handed her one.

Rory knew Logan was a regular when the waitress greeted him by name and brought him his favorite beer. Adding, "Saturday night is burger night," she reminded him, smiling, "But we have pizza and other food too."

"A burger sounds good to me," Said Logan, giving her the once over with a grin.

When she walked away, Rory attempted to conceal the fact that their knowing each other by name had irritated her. "I see you come here a lot."

"Yes . . . why?"

"Oh no, nothing." She feigned indifference as she watched him chalking the tip of his pool cue, and started to do the same with hers.

He winced. "Focus, Ace."

She wasn't the one who needed focus, though.

"Now, for your first lesson in pool. We'll do a few practice rounds before we actually play." Logan sat his stick down and nodded at the one in her hand. "You're going to hit the white ball into the other balls and get them into the pockets," he explained.

She took the stick, bent over the table and tried to remember all the times she'd watched people play pool on television. Before she could think too hard, Logan's warm body closed in behind her. His hand covered hers making her lightheaded. It took her a second to remember to breathe.

"This is the part I've been looking forward to," he murmured in her ear as he adjusted her hands on the stick. The heat from his body made her want to snuggle up against him.

She tried to stay focused but she could feel his warm breath on her ear and his hip was touching her behind. His chest barely grazed her back.

"You're shivering, Ace," he whispered.

She didn't know how to respond. She couldn't blame it on being cold. She was inside an overly warm bar.

"Now, you're ready to make the shot," his voice sent chills over her body and she nodded afraid if she gazed up at him she'd throw herself in his arms. Instead, she let him guide her into making the shot. Colorful balls rolled all over the table but she couldn't seem to concentrate.

"Good job, we've got to decide which ball we want to sink and set up your next shot."

She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath as he stood up and left the close proximity of her body. A pleased grin touched his lips as he noticed her suddenly staring at him. Even when his smile vanished, she continued staring at his mouth.

"You're gonna have to stop doing that." Logan whispered huskily as he moved to the other end of the table. "Friends, remember?"

"I wasn't doing anything." She reacted defensively.

"Now, back to business. Looks like the solids have the best set up. You can be solids and I'll take stripes. Your red ball is in the best spot. It's almost at the corner pocket over there and your white ball is very close to it. So back in position."

She managed to stay focused on what he was telling her, until he once again moved in behind her to correct the way she was holding the stick. "Slow and easy, Ace."

She took a deep steadying breath and hit the white ball. It rolled straight for the red ball and the red ball sank into the hole.

"I did it," She squealed and twirled around to throw her arms around Logan's neck. It wasn't until his arms wrapped around her and she got a very yummy whiff of his smell that she realized this hadn't been a wise move.

"Yes, you did," he said chuckling, then he lightly stroked her arm.

"Logan, Rory." Stephanie called their attention. "We need people to the next round. Robert always turns into a baby when he starts to lose."

Robert protested being called a baby, acting like a baby, so Stephanie decided to ignore him and kept waiting for their decision. "So, are you coming or not?"

"Are you ready for your first real game?" Logan addressed Rory, but Stephanie interjected. "I bet she is. Colin and Finn are being jerks to me today. I think we girls should team up and kick their asses. What do you say?"

Rory felt confident. "Consider it done. But how good are you at pool?"

Stephanie slid off the stool. "I rock! Especially when I want revenge after that dumb blonde comment. You'll owe me a beer for the insult." She promised menacingly to the boys.

Rory got in and watched Colin rack the balls. She innocently shrugged off her jacket, much to the admiration of all the guys.

That didn't go unnoticed by Logan, who even though wasn't playing the game, quickly stood beside her like a bodyguard, forcing the other boys to divert their curious eyes away.

* * *

Two hours later, she had won two games and lost two. All in all, not bad. Stephanie, of course, was kicking major butt, not surprising considering how good she was at pool.

Logan watched from afar his friends having fun when Robert approached him and stated. "Your friend is a hit."

Logan quickly peered at him as he watched Rory line up her shot. "Don't get too excited." He never really liked Robert. "She's not for you."

"Seems like you're a little possessive."

"Look, Robert. I don't mean to be rude…" In fact he did. "… But Rory is not your type, so why won't you go nag someone else?"

It wasn't right to laugh at his friend's face. Logan could be a hypocrite when he wanted to. Maybe this girl made him live in some kind of la-la land if he thought they were somehow different. So Robert tried to contain himself. "No offense, but she's not your type either."

"So we both shouldn't have her, right?"

"I think we should let her decide that."

Logan strode closer and spoke in a low voice. "Robert? Did you hear me? Back off."

Robert swallowed a small lump. Not that he was intimidated, but even though he and Logan always had a few differences, this was the first time they seemed to be really bickering over something he didn't even think it was important. Until now.

Robert watched as Logan turned his back on him and walked toward the pool table. He grinned inside and wondered what this girl could possibly have going on to make Logan act so out of character. Now he was even more tempted to find out.

Logan came across the two girls high-fiving gleefully as they beat the boys one more time. "Having fun, Ace?"

"Hell yeah. I didn't know that could be so fun."

He nodded, pleased with her answer. "And you and Steph seem to be hitting off."

"Yes, we are." Rory grinned. "All the boys love Stephanie. She looks so natural around them. "

"And you're not?"

She shrugged. "Men don't naturally gravitate toward me."

He laughed. "You must be blind, Ace, because every set of male eyes in this place on you since you walked in the door."

She looked around, and caught several gazes quickly darting away.

Huh.

"Plus, of all my friends. I've had to glare at all of them to keep them away from you."

She turned back to him. "And why would you do that?"

He leaned in closer. "I think you know why."

She warmed as he looked down at her, his gaze direct, his words very obvious. "I don't pay much attention to men."

"Maybe you should. Because they sure as hell pay attention to you."

"And you?"

He smirked too but still held his solemn expression. "I sure as hell pay attention to you."

Her eyes held his. She should step back and go hang out with Stephanie, but something about him, about the way he looked at her, held her there.

"Hey, are you two going to stare into each other's eyes all night, or are you going to play pool?"

Thank God for Steph. Logan moved away, and Rory took a breath.

"Definitely play pool," Rory said, picking up a cue and moving back to the table.

After she took her shot, she moved alongside Steph. "So what was going on over there?" Stephanie asked.

"We were just talking."

"With what? Your tongues?"

Rory laughed. "There were no tongues involved."

"I don't know about that. I could feel the heat transfer all the way over here. You two have something hot going on."

"We have nothing going on."

"But he wants to get it on."

Rory quickly dismissed what Stephanie had said. "We're just friends."

"Oh, honey". Stephanie spoke like if she was about to break to a kid that Santa wasn't real. "Logan doesn't get friends with girls."

"He's friends with you." Stephanie stopped for a minute. She wasn't expecting that, so she shot an almost imperceptible look away in someone else's direction, which didn't go unnoticed by Rory. "But that's for another reason we should discuss later."

Rory realized her new friend might not want to talk about it, so she decided to let the conversation die, but Stephanie had something more to say. "Look, Rory. You have to be careful here. There is a line."

Rory was puzzled. "Line?"

"Yeah, there is a long waiting line of girls to get to him." Stephanie pointed at Logan with her head as he was engaged in conversation with other people. Rory followed Stephanie's head to him until the information downed at her.

"Wow, this is embarrassing. But Steph, if there is a line, I'm afraid I've jumped that a while ago."

Rory pressed her cold fingertips to her burning cheeks attempting to ease how mortified she felt. It was shameful but true.

Steph sighed as if she wasn't surprised. "So you're one of the lucky ones he wants a second round with. But make no mistake, there is no such thing as friends."

* * *

"I think it's time to call it the night, Ace."

Rory whined. "But I'm having so much fun."

He laughed, took the sticks and put them away. "Yeah, and it's also four AM."

She stared down at the only beer he had drank for the night and she realized he was being careful. "I should drive."

He snorted. "Not a chance."

"You've been drinking."

"It was only a beer."

"Either you can give me the keys to your car or I can go digging for them. What's it going to be, Logan? You want me searching your pockets?"

A crooked grin touched his face. "As a matter of fact, I think I might just enjoy you digging around in my pockets, Ace. Why don't we go with option number two."

He looked at her defiantly, as if she didn't have the guts to do it. Huh, he was wrong. At that point, Rory felt like she could do anything.

She crammed her hand into his pocket, felt the warmth of his body penetrating the fabric and retrieved the keys. "Which key?"

He indicated and she let them inside.

* * *

"So, you have a line?"

Logan kicked back his feet on the car's dashboard, further reclining his seat in the process. "Steph has a big mouth, doesn't she?"

"Maybe I should ask her about you and Chloe." Rory suggested and waited to feel his reaction.

He didn't give anything away. "Stephanie doesn't know Chloe."

"So maybe I should ask you."

He looked out the car window and was silent for a second. If it appeared that he was hiding anything, if he was stalling, she could suspect his motives. But she also was insistent. "Logan, what happened between you and Chloe?"

"Why are you obsessed with Chloe? You don't like her, do you"

She smiled, bitterly. "This is not a real answer."

"Does it matter?"

She looked a little frustrated but searched for a tactful way to continue. "If you don't want to tell me, it must be important to you."

"Why is it important to you?"

"Because maybe if Jess was cool with that, he might be cool with what we did too."

That was a fair point. But was it the only reason she was interested in this information? Logan didn't buy it though. "That's totally different."

"So you assume there is something going on with you two?"

"Nothing is going on." He knew she wouldn't let that go and there was no point in denying anymore. So he sighed and let it out. "We hooked up a couple of times. But that was it."

The truth was bitter than she thought. "And Jess was cool with that?"

"I don't know. If he wasn't, at least he acted cool. But you're missing something here, Rory."

"What?"

"Chloe wasn't his girlfriend. You were."

She looked reflective. "But she likes him."

He nodded and his face looked serious. Then he nodded again, this time to himself. She could see he was contemplating his next words, but they weren't a surprise. "I think so too."

"Maybe we should tell him the truth."

"If you want to, I'm not gonna stop you. We didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm afraid to hurt him."

"Rory," He paused, long enough to see her face squirming in frustration. "This isn't about you and me, is it? This is about you and Jess."

She never gave him an answer. She didn't have to and he was afraid to push it. In fact, he also wasn't sure if he wanted one. He just said what she needed to hear. "Do what's best for you. I'll be fine."

She tried to put on a tough face, but she was broken inside. Maybe she didn't want to talk about it anymore. She was excited with the idea of trying new things. Tonight was new, tonight was fun. Maybe she should leave the past in the past. Maybe she should try to fall for a new guy. If only he wanted to.

In the next minute, Rory pulled the car over to the side and parked next to her dorm. They got off the car and he took the wheel.

The first rays of sunlight were dawning, but oddly enough, she wasn't sleepy. She felt alive.

Rory leaned in the car window, her face only inches from his. "Thank you for the night. I had a lot of fun."

He smirked. "Anyone with that many drinks in them would have fun."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheeks. "No, I mean I had fun with you."

"That's what I'm here for." He smiled once more at her. However, he had not smiled with his eyes. No, his eyes had been thinking. They were not eyes that crinkled at the corners and danced as her eyes did. And without so much as a glance over his shoulder, he was speeding off.

Rory wondered if she had said something that upset him as she watched his car driving away. He told her he would be fine. No matter what she decided to do. She wasn't sure she believed him, but among the many questions and answers she found that night, only one remained in her head.

He liked her or he liked her not?

* * *

**A/N: **Please, review.


	9. Chapter 9 - Throw of the Dice

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girls. If I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Hi guys, I'm updating the story again.

I must say, that this chapter had been ready for over a month and I thought long and hard if I should really publish it.

I'd like to thank all the messages (there were many) I've got from my last update, and all my readers who support my work. I also would like to ask you something.

When I check how many views my story is getting, I don't know if people just came in or read it until the end. There's no way of knowing who is sticking with me or if I'm following the right path. The only way to find out if this story is still interesting enough so I can keep updating, is you telling me so.

If you are following a story, support it. I have noticed that stories about Gilmore Girls have disappeared. The new (and very good) stories that emerge are not appreciated enough. In a short time this fandom will likely to disappear and there is no point in publishing stories for just ourselves. So, if you follow a fanfic, interact. Tell us what you think. It takes zero effort to leave a message. And we still keep this fandom alive.

I would also like to send love to all my readers around the world, as we are facing a difficult time. Take care. Stay safe. I hope everything is fine with you all.

Now, I am going to introduce a new plot in this story that I had already hinted in the last chapter.

Please review!

* * *

**CHAPTER 9 – THROW OF THE DICE**

* * *

"Is my watch broken?" Stephanie asked, sounding bored.

"Unfortunately no." Rory answered equally sick and tired.

That's because they were bored. Holed up in a crappy little underground poker palace run by those supposedly legendary gamblers and all of their rich friends.

And apparently the boys had to do this because they had a reputation or whatever.

"I can tolerate maybe two more rounds of this and then I'm walking," Stephanie muttered before Rory finish off the rest of the warm beer in her requisite red solo cup.

Grimacing, Rory set the cup on the table behind her and let out a big sigh, earning a quick glance from her friends. It wasn't too long until she caught Logan's face. He did looked stressed. He had been wearing that look a lot lately.

She wondered if their blunt conversation in his car had something to do with that. Or maybe lack of funds would do that to a person.

Instead of saving the money his dad gave him, he went and blew it on stupid stuff. Like poker.

Or like that pair of designer sunglasses he promptly lost when he was at one of those pool parties, got drunk and went swimming with them on.

Logan was very different from all the friends she had before. She still couldn't tell how that friendship still could work out so fine.

_Friendship._

"Logan doesn't have very many chips left either," Stephanie mentioned, leaning in close to her when she noticed Rory couldn't take her eyes away from their blonde friend.

"Good. Maybe that means we can leave soon." Rory grabbed her cup from the table and brought it to her lips only to realize it was empty, then she frowned. Not that she wanted more warm beer but…

"Get her another." Logan rose his hand, a smug grin stretching his lips wide, revealing perfect white teeth. How was he paying attention to her and playing that game at the same time?

A second later she noticed he wasn't the only one looking at her closely.

Robert's gaze also snagged on hers, those green eyes never leaving hers. She was the one who had to look away first. Logan wished he could rip Robert's eyes off.

Asshole.

Among all of Logan's friends, Robert was the only one she hadn't figure it out yet. Okay, he was nice to her, as were all of them. But she could have sworn sometimes he looked at her strangely. As if he wanted something else from her.

"What a creeper." Stephanie stated as she saw the little eye interaction.

A shiver moved down Rory's spine but she ignored. Rory sipped her beer, thankful it was colder. They must've cracked open a new keg. Because Logan told them so.

"Ha! If Robert is a creeper then I hope he abducts me in his tricked out van." Rosemary bursted out laughing at her own crude joke.

"For God's sake, Rosemary" It was only what the other girls could say. That they were joking about being kidnapped was one thousand times wrong. That they were joking about Robert kidnapping them was a million times wrong.

"What do you mean, his tricked out van?" Rory asked, baffled.

"So many creepers have those equally creepy vans. You know which ones I'm talking about." Rosemary mocked shudders.

"So gross." Stephanie finally said.

Their conversation had taken a weird turn and Rory blamed boredom. She needed to get out of there. But nobody seemed to be paying attention to them.

Robert was too busy gnawing on his lower lip and sweating bullets.

Colin was hunched over his cards, as if he was afraid someone might catch a peek at his hand.

Finn was way too drunk to know where he was.

And Logan was sprawled in his chair, legs spread wide, one arm slung over the back of an empty chair, his other arm resting on the table, cards fanned wide so anyone can see them.

He looked just as bored as the girls were. But that was a good look for him.

Damn.

"I'm done." Colin threw his cards down in disgust and got up from his chair, moving so he was sitting on the bench behind Logan. Finn also admitted defeat and followed him.

Colin clapped a hand on Logan's shoulder in a good luck gesture and plucked the beer out of some random chick's hand, downing it before he grinned at her.

Everyone playing had already dropped out, one by one, until it was just Logan and Robert left. Some had even abandoned their chairs, moving on to grab more beer or play at another table. Or to leave the party with their tails tucked between their legs and their wallets empty.

Rory felt Robert tensing up and couldn't blame him.

Sitting up straight, she peeked over Logan's shoulder to see exactly what he was holding. And oh my God, he was holding something amazing.

Thank God her grandpa had taught her everything she needed to know about poker and blackjack. Even thought her gambling knowledge wasn't that impressive, she knew enough to know Logan's hand was about as good as it could get.

Talk about luck.

She could only guess by the way Robert was still sweating and muttering unintelligible words under his breath that he got nothing. Or he was the best bluffer ever.

She was guessing the first option.

"You in?" Logan asked, his deep voice rumbling from his chest, low and intimidating. Robert looked up, his teeth still sunk in his lower lip and Rory noticed all at once how incredibly young he looked. Maybe Rosemary had a point. Not about the kidnapping part, but about how Robert could be cute.

"You in?" Asked Logan again.

"Uhhh…" Robert drew out the sound, his gaze flickering to Logan. He was shaking his head no, slicing his finger across his neck. He was already close enough to losing it all. And his lack of response was making Logan even more impatient. For a minute, Rory could have sworn they weren't all that friends. "You gonna raise the pot or what?"

"I won't."

"So why don't you drop?"

"I'm not dropping." Robert reassured him and rested his cards on the table. "I want something else."

Logan looked confused. "What?"

"Come on, Logan. We've been bored out of our skull betting money here. The pot is small, maybe five thousand bucks. Big deal. Let's bet something else."

Logan stiffened in his chair. "What do you want?"

Robert clasped his hand over the table showing a little grin for the first time in hours. He glanced from Logan to the girls, laying his eyes on a _very specific girl_. "You know what I want."

Logan caught his intention and felt disgusted by the idea, answering him promptly. "No, ask something else."

"I don't want something else."

"So raise the damn pot or leave the damn table."

The room fell silent. They knew at this point that things were getting nasty. So Robert whispered, low enough so that only the people closer to the table could hear him.

"Come on, Logan. We don't want another 'Steph' here. I thought you were confident on what you had in your hands."

That just made Logan ever more irritated. "Do you want my blessing? Because that you'll never have."

Robert held his eyes defiantly. "If you win, I'll give up."

Logan was listening carefully and nodded at him to go on. "But if I win... You'll stay out of the way."

Logan shook his head and his forehead furrowed. His jaw was tight and he appeared angry. "It's never gonna happen anyway."

"So you have nothing to worry about, right?"

Logan thought long and hard. He took a quick glance at the four queens in his hands. No much could beat that but the Ace caused him major concern.

Ace.

He had too much invested. He couldn't lose that. What are the odds though? Really? They were in his favor. They had to be

Robert probably had nothing.

He was just trying to confuse him. Mess with something he cared about to make him lose his mind.

Nice try.

Logan's chip went into the pot with confidence.

Robert was right about one thing. The anticipation was half the fun of this game. And maybe he had missed it before, but that kind of thrill was only worthy when he was fairly sure he would win. "So what you got?"

"Call." Robert said.

"Here you go." The smugness in Logan's voice was unmistakable.

"Read 'em and weep." Logan spread his cards out in front of Robert. Four queen's and one Ace.  
A really nice hand for sure.

Logan smiled victoriously and started to reach for the pile of chips, coins and dollar bills, looking like a greedy kid who just found the keys to the candy store and had no plans on sharing any.

"Hold it." Robert paused in his gathering. "I haven't showed my hand yet. Ready?"

Logan cocked a brow, as Robert drew out the suspense. There was a vibration beneath his skin, a buzzing that grew until it was a dull roar in his ears.

Robert crinkled the cards between his fingers before slowly drop them onto the table, one by one.

King of clubs.  
King of spades.  
King of hearts.  
King of diamonds.  
And—dramatic pause—the _Ace_ of hearts.

Shit.

The entire room erupted into cheers, choruses of 'no way' and the occasional 'he beat you!'

"Looks like I got _the Ace_ now." Said a triumphant Robert.

Logan had lost all coherent thought. He had also lost the ability to think, apparently.

"Screw this." A defeated Logan pushed away from the table so fast his chair fell backward with a clatter. He stormed out the room in a huff, never once saying a word to anyone, looking at Rory just once more and leaving behind his cards facing down into the middle of the table, right on top of the pile of chips, thousands of dollar bills and even a small mountain of quarters that were part of that round's pot Robert was so carefully gathering with a big nasty smile on his face.

"I didn't even want the money, Logan." Robert bragged about it once more, sulking him in his misery.

What a jackass.

* * *

"I didn't know you smoked." Rory declared, surprised when she finally found Logan alone with his thoughts on the porch.

"I don't."

She rested her hands on her hips. "So did that cigarette fall right in your mouth by mistake?"

He shrugged, tossing the cigarette butt on the floor and crushing it. "Well, I'm pretty pissed at myself. Swallowing poison didn't seem such a bad idea right now."

"Because of what you lost tonight?"

He looked down intently into her face. She couldn't read the emotions in his eyes. "Yeah..."

They fell in silence for a minute. Maybe she never had seen him that upset. Maybe it wasn't the best moment to ask that question, but the curiosity was driving her crazy.

"Hey, Logan. What did Robert meant by 'we don't want another Steph'?"

He sank his hands into his pockets and looked at her carefully, smiling for the first time. "You ask way too many questions, Ace."

Her face broke into a grin. "And you never easily answer them."

He nodded in agreement and walked back onto the porch, sitting on the step. Rory stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Then she sat on the step next to him. They stayed in silence again for a few moments, looking at the sky. It was a pleasant evening for a late fall.

"Look up at that cloud above us", Rory said. "What does that cloud look like to you?"

Logan gazed up at the cloud. "Does it look like it's giving us a thumbsup?"

She laughed. "Yeah, kinda."

Rory could feel him cooling off as he pointed to another cloud. "What about that one?"

She thought for a second, afraid of what she thought she was seeing. "It looks like a phallic symbol."

He cocked his head to one side, in question, and took another look; he glanced up perfectly joyful. "It so does not."

She cocked her head with a semi-scowl as she replied. "Yes, it does."

"I don't know if I'm more worried about your eyes health or scared about you seeing a penis everywhere."

"I don't see _it_ everywhere."

"Say penis."

She blushed violently at the words, and the accompanying image that had just popped into her head. "I don't want to."

They shared a laugh and continued their exploration through the sky, until he saw her face lighting up to something else. "What was that little grin about?"

"It's nothing." She said, not at all convincing. Logan smiled and glanced at her with the corner of his eye. He seemed to smile even more when he noticed her twirling her hair with her fingertips. Like if she was thinking something he might like to hear.

My God. She was sexy.

Normally, he wasn't attracted to cute, cuddly women, but from the moment he'd spied her beautiful kissable lips, nothing about her felt normal.

Or ever rational.

Since he promised they would be just friends, he told himself he wouldn't do anything that would tempt him to break their agreement.

But at that particular moment, his gaze drifted to her body fixing on the lush curves in that blue top. That just got even more attractive mixed with her flustered face and eyes so blue like thick ice.

He was mesmerized as he was watching her adjusting her hair. She flipped her dark hair off her shoulder and onto her back. "Tell me what you're thinking, Ace."

"Alright! You caught me." She dropped her hands to her lap, so embarrassed she thought she would burst at any moment. "I was just thinking... don't you think it's weird that we're friends and I've had already seen you naked?"

He shrugged like if it wasn't that big deal. "Well, you're friends with Jess."

She considered. "Yeah, but..." she hesitated, calling his attention.

"But what?" Logan asked, afraid to have come to the right conclusion. "You guys haven't have sex?"

She shook her head 'no'. God, telling him this was awkward.

Logan couldn't hide his surprise. "But didn't you date for like months?"

"Yeah..."

Not believing what he heard, he snorted, shaking his head. "Poor guy."

"So you don't think it's weird for friends to have sex?"

"Not really."

Huh. Suspiscious answer. "Have you ever slept with Stephanie? Is that what Robert was referring to before?"

"No..."

Logan sounded really uncomfortable with that conversation. He really didn't like to answer her questions. And he seemed to have so many secrets. She thought about backing down, but she had to know. "'No' to which question?"

"'No' to both questions. Robert wasn't talking about her and I never slept with Steph either."

Rory nodded reflectively, quiet.

"You sound surprised." Logan said and she gazed at him. "Why not?"

"Well, if something had happened between Stephanie and me, Colin would have killed me. He likes her. Steph is like _the forbidden fruit_ to us."

"So you would never consider to have something with a girl your friend likes?"

"Most likely."

Rory didn't get it. Did he think the way he was looking at her just a few minutes ago went unnoticed? What if he looked at Stephanie the same way, but didn't act on it?

What a cold shower.

Not speaking, she came a little closer. For several minutes she stood as motionless as him. She bit her lower lip and whispered in a low, soft voice. "Logan, how often you think about that night?"

She was so close now he could smell her light peachy scent, which made him travel immediately to the moment she was talking about. He'd lost count of how many times he'd revisited the memories of their night.

It was such a shame he wasn't allowed to think about this. "You mean _the thing_ we were never supposed to talk about?"

She smirked. "Yeah."

Logan swallowed hard. "I don't want to sound creepy so I'll ask you to go first."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, never breaking their eye connection. "It still comes across my mind occasionally."

"So I envy you, cause I think about _that_ all the damn time when I'm with you."

His words made a shriver move all way down her spine. If only she wasn't a coward and let him kiss her now. Better, if only she wasn't a coward and decided to kiss him now. "Do you mean, you want to do it again?"

She was flirting. Hard. Which was okay with him. He was the master at flirting. And keeping things casual. And superficial.

Which was where exactly lied the problem in that case.

"You know we can't." He said, a little hesitantly.

Rory noticed the things cooling down between them when Logan struggled to keep the conversation going. He had doubts. She had too, but that shouldn't get in the way of what she really wanted. If he wanted it too.

Underneath all the shame she felt for a possible rejection, she wore a smile and backed off. "Logan, I was kidding."

Slightly humiliated, she tried to withdraw and go back to the room, where the girls were waiting for her, but before she could cross that door, he softly called her name and caught a glimpse of her disappointed eyes. "You may be kidding, but I wasn't."

Rory felt like her heart might beat its way out of her chest. Still, she also felt like her heart could break into a multitude of tiny pieces. She wasn't aware he could do that to her. Until now.

And to be honest, she still wasn't even sure If her heart was fixed just to be broken again.

So she just smiled, repressed her feelings and gave him a small nod.

He liked her not.

* * *

**A/N:** I realized that I have not yet made this challenge in this story. But there will be a party in the next chapter including all the LDB characters and some exciting things are going to happen. It's going to be a loooong chapter.

Anyone who guess what's going to happen will receive an exclusive sneak peak from the next chapter before I publish it. The clock is ticking.

Also, tell what you think of chapter 9.


	10. Chapter 10 - Blue Devils

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girs. if I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Who asked for a giant chapter?

Thank you for the many beautiful, encouraging and kind messages.

I don't know why it took me so long to finish this chapter, as it was always written in my head.

From your reviews, I believe this is not what you expected, but I'll only be sure if you tell me what you think.

I am really glad you keep reading my story.

Please review!

* * *

**CHAPTER 10 – BLUE DEVILS**

* * *

Logan was late. In less than an hour he had to be party-ready, and he was still in the bathroom shaving.

This was the first party he was attending in that week. The address he had was just a few blocks off campus, meaning Logan could get as wasted as he liked with no car to drive.

And he needed to get wasted tonight.

What an awful week he'd had so far. First, that humiliating night at poker. Second, he flunked a test. And then his father called to talk about the family plan; he was past due for a guy's night.

Although he wanted to, Logan wasn't sure what he was going to do that night. Normally, he would be worried about being a human barrier and protecting Rory from all the losers trying to get to her. But now, he wasn't so sure.

That silly poker game was still racking his brain. He couldn't stop thinking about it when he involuntarily jerked his head and cut himself with his razor. He threw the blade in the sink and washed the cut with fresh water. To stop the bleeding, he reached for a paper roll and pressed a sheet of paper on the small wound. This Robert business was affecting him way more than it should.

Logan frowned at himself in the mirror. All of a sudden, the thought of Rory dating someone else wasn't that pacifying. What's wrong with me? He asked himself. Logan had never had a problem with seeing girls he had hooked up before dating other men.

He knew Rory wasn't the "friends with benefits" type—well, almost no girl was, really. No matter what they said, if you stick long enough, they always ended up asking for more. Commitment, a serious relationship, I love yous, and all that.

Logan wasn't interested in any of it. He was determined to enjoy his college years with no strings attached.

He removed the paper from his jaw. The bleeding had stopped, so he quickly finished shaving and rinsed the remaining gel from his face. The cold water was soothing on his skin, tempting him to dunk his entire head under the icy stream to cool off. One freezing shower apparently hadn't been enough to forget what was happening.

The doorbell rang, announcing the boys had arrived.

Good!

They clasped hands, which resulted in Logan's hand getting smeared with bluish paint. The boys had decided to go to the party dressed as The Smurfs. Like an off-season Halloween. The costume was very basic: white shorts, no clothes from the waist up and a lot of blue body paint.

After his own painting session, they headed to the party with a feeling that this was going to be a good night.

The costume idea was a rousing success. It was impossible for them to move around the party without being the center of attention. Tall blue boys were hard to miss in a crowd.

Logan poured himself a beer from a huge keg and took position next to Colin and Finn in a corner that offered a strategic view of the house.

From his vantage point, Colin spotted a group of three girls with potential: a blonde, a brunette and a red-haired. The ladies had their backs turned, but the rear view did not call for complaints.

Colin invited his friend for an approach, little did he know Logan wasn't looking for an attack. He was just trying to find a certain someone in the crowd.

The blonde was dressed in a short, airy dress, which looked more like a babydoll shirt. She had little white wings strapped to her back. An angel.

The brunette was clad in a tight, glittery black jumpsuit with only one shoulder strap. From her bottom sprouted a tail she'd laced around one wrist for support, and she had kitten ears. Meow.

The last girl was wearing a short, sequined red dress and had tiny red horns on the top of her head. Hell-o. They had a good feeling about the trio.

Colin nudged Logan. "Angel, devil, or hellcat?"

Logan whistled. "I think you should go for the angel. Finn takes the devil."

"What about the kitty cat?"

"Don't come close to her." A pang of disappointment stabbed Colin's chest; he would've chosen the kitten. Never mind. Angel was fine.

Logan watched his friends approach from afar. They had confidence, he couldn't deny it. A small smile hovered over his face when they were surprised to see who the girls in the trio were.

"Colin, what the hell are you doing?"

The angel reacted as she heard a lame pick-up line with no chance to work on her.

"Steph?"

"In the flesh. And wings."

Colin looked back regretfully, finding Logan chortling at him. Bastard.

"What the hell are you doing?" Steph demanded to know, crossing her arms and giving Colin a stare of death, as if she were daring him to explain himself.

Although it seemed like just a miscommunication between two friends, maybe it was much more. Rory watched the undeclared couple throwing shade at each other, but neither seem to admit it wasn't _that_ complicated.

Instead, Colin just turned tail and ran. He knew he had to make major lifestyle change to have a shot with Stephanie. And still would probably be shut down.

As she watched him walk away, Steph just took a deep breath and tossed the red cup with freshly poured beer that Colin had offered her into the nearest trash can. She wore a pained expression and kept her head down, as if she couldn't shake what was bothering her.

Rory suspected maybe that wasn't the first time. But instead of crying, Stephanie held her head high and kicked the pain away, since the sadness seemed to disappear quickly when a tall brunette with muscular arms started whispering in her ear.

Rory had to learn from her how to do that.

It didn't take long for the guys start to approach her as well.

"Need another drink?" A guy with flawless thick blonde hair asked, pointing to her cup, which was still half full.

"No thanks. I'm good." Rory replied, cutting off all hope of an easy pick up.. He kept going. "So you go to school at Yale?"

What a original conversation.

"Yeah. I major in journalism. What's yours?"

He finished his drink. "Business," he said, seeming completely uninterested in the topic. He wanted sex, not someone to talk to. "You sure you don't want another drink?"

Yeah. He wanted her to drink up and get drunk so he can move this along. Sorry, not gonna happen. "I still have some left,"

He nodded, and his eyes went to her breasts again.

He was smiling, so obviously he liked what he saw but she wasn't feeling the same way. Not even the tiniest spark. It's not like there was anything wrong with him.

He had a good-looking face. She was sure plenty of girls find him attractive, but not her. Maybe it's the lack of a meaningful conversation. Add in the fact that he wouldn't stop leering at her. It brought a sudden need to get away from him.

"I need to find my friend," Rory told him. "But I'll see ya around." She walked off and he didn't bother to follow her. He knew he wasn't getting any.

The friend she was referring to was not Stephanie, since this friend seemed very engaged in an interesting conversation with a boy. She was looking for another blonde.

She hadn't seen him yet. And since he was nowhere around her in this past week, she suspected he might be avoiding her.

Little did she know he was still watching her from afar. Beautiful, but sad.

He was naive to believe this party would come at a good time to blow off some steam. He was stressed and ashamed. Not even the pretty girls from the party could take his mind off that. And they were many.

"You need another?"

Logan glanced to his right to see a tiny girl with strawberry blonde hair smiling at him, a beer bottle clutched in each hand.

"Yeah. Thanks." He took the beer she offered and tip it to his lips, keeping one eye on the girl and one eye on Rory.

The girl waved on her feet, teetering on the extremely high heel sandals she was wearing. "You all right?" Logan asked after he swallowed.

"Fine." She smiled crookedly, revealing teeth covered in metal. How old was this girl anyway?

She was small in general, doesn't even come up to his shoulder." I'm sorry, but you're a freshman?"

"Nooo." Apparently she liked drawing out her 'nos'. "I'm a senior in high school. I came with a friend tonight. She's showing me the college life."

High school? Time to go. He slowly backed away, offering whatshername a little wave before he turned on his heel and run straight into the brunette he wished he was really chatting with.

"Aren't you little old to be wearing Smurfs shorts?"

Rory finally spotted him.

Logan rose an eyebrow and shot back. "Aren't you little old to drink milk?"

"What's the problem with drinking milk?"

"An adult mammal asking me that. That's weird."

"Weirder than a Smurf knowing magic and being unable to come up with another song to sing?"

"We try to keep it simple for children."

"Oh, so that's why you're hanging out with kids, I see."

Logan glanced over his shoulder to see braces grinning at him, looking like a child trying her best to convince everyone else she's a grownup. He waved at her again and she frowned, turned on her wobbly heel toward the makeshift dance floor.

"Isn't she a little young for you?" Rory continued. Logan tried to dodge the question. "I'm not with her. And how's your preppy boy?"

"You're the one to talk." She fired, kind of annoyed.

"Why are you mad at me?" Logan was acting so cool and collected. He was doing it to irritate her, like he always did.

"You've been avoiding me. And I don't even know what I've done to deserve this from you."

"I'm not avoiding you." He lied.

"Yes, you are. There was a time I couldn't get rid of you even if I wanted to, and now... Just tell me what's wrong."

Lately he was losing his natural vigor. He was concerned about his attitudes and often began to have something called self-criticism. Something he had only heard of before.

Worse, Logan was even questioning his lifestyle. He didn't like how he was having a hard time to hide his jealousy over a girl he wasn't even seeing.

That was wrong.

And it all started with her.

Peaches. Rory. Ace.

He had to recover from that. He had to get over it. She was just a girl. She was someone emotionally involved with a good friend of his.

She was messing with the dynamics of his closest group of friends. These feelings weren't worth all that stress. It would eventually go away. He just needed to be firm and let it go.

So why he was always so mesmerized by her eyes. It wasn't every day that he noticed something like a woman's eyes. To be honest, eyes were never on top of his lists when it came to women.

But her eyes were like clean blue water as her lips looked like petals of dark pink rose.

He sounded like a freaking poet in his head. Jesus. When did he become so tacky?

He spent so much time in his reveries that he didn't notice the awkward silence that was left by his lack of response. When he realized, she had already given up. "Whatever, Logan. We'll talk when you grow up."

She returned back to the girls. At this point, Rosemary was still ignoring Finn. Stephanie had given up on flirting with boys and decided to dedicate herself to drinking. It didn't seem like a bad idea, so she filled up her cup and followed Stephanie.

The two sipped their cups in silence. But Rory couldn't seem to hold her frustration inside her, so Steph anticipated. "Why do I get the feeling you're about to bombard me with questions?"

"Because I am."

Steph took a deep breath and laid off. "Okay, shoot."

"Have you ever dated one of the boys?"

"College boys? Sure!"

"I mean, one of _our_ boys."

Stephanie snorted in disdain. "Oh no. Not gonna happen, girl."

"Why?"

"Look, Rory. I've know them for my entire life and I love them with all my heart, but they're just boys. I'll never risk our friendship by some drunken mistake."

"Not even Colin?"

Steph gave her a long, odd glance, and her features seemed to stiffen a little. It was the glance of a bowling player who guessed suddenly he wouldn't be able to knock down all the pins. So she asked, speaking slowly and carefully. "What about Colin?"

"He likes you. Wouldn't that be different?"

"He does?" She cleared her throat. "So that's why he keeps parading girls right on my face? It's a weird way to show someone you like them, isn't it?, isn't it?"

Rory nodded. That's exactly how she felt. So Steph continued. "Maybe he's attracted to me in a obvious kind of way, but those boys don't catch feelings, Rory. The sooner you learn that, the better. "

Steph's voice was so vehement, Rory's eyebrows shot upward.

"I see that wasn't the answer you were looking for."

Rory tried to hide her mounting disappointment. "Do you think Logan likes me?"

"Well, yes. Honey, I think he cares about you, which is already a big deal coming from him. But Logan..."

By simply looking at Rory's sad eyes and pale face, her painful existence was apparent. Stephanie decided to be careful with her words. "He's not a boyfriend material. You can have fun with him, but don't put your hopes up. He's not gonna change."

"I'm not looking for a boyfriend."

Steph nodded, not at all convinced. "Still, if you see someone else you like, move on."

Steph's words didn't leave Rory feeling content. They'd sliced into her like jagged shards of glass. It hurt, hearing someone else reinforcing the same words Logan had said to her before.

But still, she felt like they shared a special bond. Something unique. The doubt persisted. Was she deluding herself? She wondered as she began helping herself to the booze. This time all by herself.

"Having some trouble?"

Rory jerked at the familiar voice behind her. Another Smurf, but not the one she was longing to see. "Hi, Robert."

He had a smile that had mischief written all over it. "I was hoping to chat with you a little. I feel like we don't know each other yet."

Huh. He was right. So she nodded politely.

She hadn't interacted with Robert enough yet. Maybe it was because she got a feeling he and Logan weren't such good friends. She wondered what had changed.

"Why you're here alone?"

"Actually, I'm here with my spirits." She rose her glass to tip it with the one Robert had in his hand.

Interesting.

No Logan around. Maybe he was doing what he knew the best and finally gave up on his purified princess.

Noticing her cup was getting dramatically empty, Rory shook the red cup she was holding. Robert got the clue. "Why don't we go get another drink?"

She chugged whatever was left of her beer and shrugged. "Sure."

As they walked away, Robert peered over his shoulder, catching Logan's eye from afar. There he was.

Confusion was written all over his face. He was pissed, he could tell, but hey, a deal is a deal.

On the other side of the room, Logan was keeping his word and staying out of her way.

But in the end that was ridiculous. Why did he care about that stupid game? He didn't owe Robert his word. He should as well make him get lost and stay away from her.

But somehow he felt like he shouldn't. He would go there, stopping anyone from getting close to her and then what? He couldn't have her, so maybe he should just rip the band-aid off and torture himself watching all of those guys try their luck with her.

He just hoped she wouldn't fall for any of those assholes. Especially Robert. Please, God. He didn't speak with the Lord so much, but don't let it be Robert.

* * *

After an hour talking, Robert offered her a new kind of beer. It looked expensive and different from what the rest of people at the party was drinking too.

"Something wrong with the keg?" Rory asked as he opened the bottles of beer.

"No, I just had those two exclusive beers. You looked like someone I should offered it to."

It was a frat party. Keg beer was expected. But to be honest, she liked. And admitted it tasted a lot better too.

"So tell me something about you. I've heard you're from a small town."

"I am, but don't worry. I'm not gonna sing a bad country song."

Robert laughed so naturally she kind of felt comfortable talking to him. That was a first at this party. "So what's your major?"

Oh, that comes the infamous question she had been answering for the entire night. "Journalism."

"Whoa, tough. You're a smart girl, then."

"Were you hoping for dumb?"

"No." He shot her a grin, his teeth too white next to the blue lips. "I like a challenge."

Interesting.

Robert was flirting with her.

And Logan didn't even care. He never did. Stephanie's words quickly came back to haunt her. He wouldn't catch feelings, but she maybe should. So she decided to play along with it.

"What's your major?"

"Econ. But hopefully, I won't need it—"

She really didnt want to hear another lifeplan of trust funds and rich houses. Robert caught that. "This conversation is a little boring, right?"

Hell yes.

"Want to move upstairs? It's too noisy to talk down here."

Dangerous question.

"Sure," Rory said.

Dangerous answer.

She followed him up the stairs, half-curious, half-worried to see if he would try to take her into a room. But Robert stopped at the top of the stairs and sat on a carpeted step. Rory sat next to him, keeping a safe distance.

"I don't bite," he said.

"But you stain." She bumped her bottle into his. "Cheers!"

"To what?"

"To an evening with a blue guy." She raised her drink, and they both drank.

"Would you get terribly mad if I got some paint on you?"

Rory held his burning gaze. "It depends where."

He took the bottle from her hands and set it alongside his on the landing. "How about on your lips?"

Was he really asking to kiss her? It must have sounded absurd to her, but weirdly enough, she actually considered the idea.

"You can try." She smiled. "I promise I'll keep my claws in."

Careful not to touch her in any other way, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was gentler than Rory expected. And when it was over, it left her wondering why she even was doing that. And damn she was drinking fast.

It wasn't a bad kiss though. She definitely had worst. But she also had better.

"What?" He asked as she kept quiet. "Nothing. That was interesting... But how about you grab me another drink for now?" she asked.

"Another beer?"

"Sure"

"Wait here, I'll be right back." Robert disappeared behind a corner, but she wasn't alone for a long time.

Logan appeared right in front of her out of the sudden. He looked annoyed, but she wasn't sure why.

"Your face is half blue," Logan said, swiping a thumb from the corner of Rory's mouth down toward her jaw. The blue paint on her lips made him positively murderous.

"And now I imagine you've made it worse," she replied defiantly.

"What are you doing?"

"Um, Robert went to pick a drink for me and he invited me to see his poster collection later."

"You know this is just an excuse to trying to get into your pants, right?"

She didn't look that surprised. "So?"

"So? Do I have to explain to you how all this works at college parties?"

"Isn't that how we met, Logan? You just wanted to get into my pants. Remember?"

"That's different" He tried to argue, but he knew it wasn't different at all. "I care about you now and I'm not going to let you make such a mistake."

"Excuse me, 'Let me'?" She frowned. "Are you my father?"

"No" He answered, stiffly.

"Are you my boyfriend?"

"No... But"

Rory had to stop him right there.

"No 'buts', Logan. I'm a big girl and I'm going to do whatever I want. Robert treated me nicely so far, and you're the one who encouraged me to try new things, so."

"You're drunk."

"I'm also horny. Are you going to take me to your bed and have sex with me tonight?"

Logan almost lost the ability to speak. Damn she could be so blunt when she wanted to. "Rory, we have an agreement, remember?"

"Cut the crap, Logan. If you won't, then somebody should."

He held her by the hand, giving one more try. "Rory, just stay here and we can talk. I'll drop you out at home later as always. I promise."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. You've made it clear you're only interested in being my friend, and guess what? I need more than just a friend tonight."

As if on cue, a hand slapped his shoulder. "Huntz!" Robert said. "Keeping my lady company? Where did you put the nurse I saw you talking to?"

Funny. Now Robert was holding two cups of beer he filled from the keg. Now that he knew Rory liked him, he didn't need to give her the good beer anymore.

Idiot.

If it was him, Logan would give her the good beer. She deserved it. Rory's a good beer type of girl, even though she'd be perfectly happy with keg beer.

Logan looked at Rory then. She had her eyebrows arched like if she had just busted him. Even if he hadn't do anything wrong.

"She had to go to the bathroom," Logan finally replied to Robert's question, stiffening. All of a sudden, Robert had become the most irritating person he knew, with his swagger and his constant Huntz-ing.

Logan felt an impulse to throttle his friend. Instead, he made an effort to stay calm. "The party's just started and you're going already?"

"Yeah. You fill me in later. Bye."

Reluctantly, Logan let her go. He cringed as he watched Robert wrap one arm around Rory's shoulders as they headed for the door. She never looked back.

* * *

"If you're trying to get wasted just hit some hard stuff."

Logan heard as his angel friend joined him at his lonely table.

"I don't want to get wasted. It's just... This is a crappy night."

"I gotta say... I never thought you would really watch him get out with her."

He nodded at himself. "Guess we never know what people might decide to do."

"Alright, Logan. What happened in that poker game? You and Robert look like mouse and cat."

"He's obviously the mouse. Crawling in a filthy sewer such as him."

"And you're the pretty cat."

He smiled proudly. "That too."

Steph just rolled her eyes. "Tell me what happened."

"He made a bet he could go after her if I lost."

"You lost _Rory_ on a bet?"

"I didn't lost _Rory_. He can't claim Rory as his prize. She's a human being with her own mind. I lost the power to stop Robert to get to her."

"So you lost something you never had in the first place?"

God, even talking about it was humiliating for him. And Steph wasn't making it any easier. "I think you know what I meant."

Yeah, she knew. And now she thought she had given the final push to Logan's misery. "Promise you won't be mad?"

Logan flinched. The last time Steph pulled the "promise you won't be mad" bit, they were kids and she had fed his dog chocolate. "Oh Lord, what is it?"

She forced a smile, biting her lower lip between her teeth. He knew something bad was coming and he was no longer taking the suspense. Then she finally said. "I may have told Rory to move on from you."

At her words, the chill down his spine froze his blood. "You may have? Did you encouraged her to go out with Robert?"

"I did not." She quickly explained herself. "I told her she should date whoever she likes. I didn't know she'd pick Robert. Actually she could done something better. Girls say Robert has weird stuff down there."

Logan frowned in disgust calling the drinks quit for the night.

"Yeah, we talk about that." Stephanie added. "Keep it shaved, by the way."

What the hell. He just wanted to get out of that conversion. "Come on, Stephanie. I don't wanna know... That. What else did she say?"

"She said nothing."

"Liar. You know something."

"Why are you so pissed off? So what if Rory sleeps with someone else? You do that all the time."

"This is different."

"Is it though? Rory is like one of us now. She hangs out with us almost every night. How do you think she felt when you took home that blonde bitch from Friday?"

He never answered. That was not fun. At all.

"You must be crazy if you think it's easy for her seeing you with someone else while you still sleeping with her."

"I'm not sleeping with her. I did, just once. Months ago."

"So if you're not, why do you care if she..." The realization downed on her. "Oh my God!"

"What?" He tried to fake indifference, but his eyes and stiffness gave everything away. It was too late.

"I was wrong. You are catching feelings. Oh my God!" Stephanie vibrated as if she had discovered the biggest secret in the world. "You like her _like _her. You're blushing."

"I am not."

"Yeah, you are, you're blushing like a virgin on her wedding night."

"Okay, enough vodka for you."

"Won't you admit it?"

Logan shrugged, resisting to tell her the obvious. "It's just a crush. I'm not planning to do anything about it, so please, don't tell her that."

"What's wrong with you people?" Steph asked, exasperated. "If you like a girl, why don't you tell her? Why you keep hooking up with other girls, acting all macho all the time?"

Her little rant did more than amuse him. Time to change the tune of this conversation. "Are we still talking about me?"

After a second, her shoulders slumped. "No... " She mouthed, feeling she wasn't strong enough to pass the words on.

"Come here." Logan reached out and she rested on his shoulder. He patted her head over and over again. "Colin still hasn't made a move, huh?"

Finally, she nodded quietly and put her arms around him in turn. Very gently, he said, "Why don't you tell him instead? You're the bravest girl that I know."

"Sure, should I go upstairs and interrupt what he's doing with Miss cheerleader just to talk about my feelings?"

Logan rested his head back against the wall and sighed as one of Stephanie's warm tears slowly traced down his bare chest. "Colin is a dumbass."

"You are a dumbass too."

She was right. At least he felt so. "It is what it is."

He wiped tears from her face with his hands. "I'm going home. I think you should too."

"You're going home alone?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you want to go back to the dorm and hear... That."

"Maybe I deserve it. Are you going to be fine?"

"Yeah, Finn is taking me home."

"Well, good luck with that." He kissed her in the forehead and headed to the door.

Maybe he should sleep. And forget about this nightmare. Tomorrow he would have to face new monsters.

* * *

Now that she was at home alone with Robert, with Logan out of the picture, Rory didn't feel so bold anymore. What was she doing with a guy she knew nothing about? Again.

They had occupied an empty random room inside the dorm, because for some reason Robert couldn't take her to his real room. There were no posters here.

But he had champagne.

"Did you know you would bring a girl here?"

"No, but if I did, I was hoping it was you since the beginning."

Rory smiled, a little flustered. "Why is it hard to believe in you?"

"Because you're too tense." he said, pouring her the champagne this time. Rory drank it all at once, she was really nervous.

"We're cool here. Just try to relax a little." He suggested, stroking her chin. He pulled her face up and tried to kiss her again, but she wasn't comfortable this time. So she pushed him away. "I think this is moving too fast."

"Okay. Maybe we should take our time."

She didn't want to take her time. In fact, something weird was happening to her. Something weird was happening inside her stomach.

The small room seemed to be spinning around her. She was sick. "Maybe I should go look for Logan. Or Steph."

"Forget about Logan." Robert stopped her. "We're here. You're fine."

"I'm not fine. Actually, I think I might..." Rory didn't have time to finish the sentence.

She felt all the liquor she had consumed that night coming from her stomach and in just an second, it was covering Robert's body like a car that went over a puddle and splashed a pedestrian on a rainy day.

He immediately freaked out and cursed. But Rory was too sick to understand, or to care.

Robert just left the room, furious, and for his misfortune, he ran into the last person he wanted to see at that moment. Logan. A little scared by the scandal in the empty dormitory, but somewhat satisfied with what he saw. Without even a word, Robert passed him like a bullet out of the muzzle of a gun.

It looks like someone up there heard his prayers. Maybe it was time for him to show up at the church this weekend.

But first, he ran to the room just to find Rory alone and unsettled.

All in all, Rory was flying high.

Logan wondered why the hell Robert had to give her more alcohol. She had gone home with him already. And now she was having trouble walking in a straight line."You need to lie down."

"I think..." She whispered the truth to him. "I think I might be just a little bit drunk."

"Really?" He laughed, and she liked the sound of it. She wanted him to laugh again. But first she had to walk straight to the bed, and it wasn't an easy prospect. She kept swaying, and Logan had to keep his arm around her the whole time.

Not that she minded.

She liked his arm around her.

Like he was taking care of her.

She was giggling over something. It had been a full minute since Logan had said whatever he'd said that she'd thought was funny, and she really couldn't remember what it was anymore. But she was still giggling about it.

When they made it up the bed, she gave a little cheer in victory.

Logan was standing there smiling in a way she really liked.

She smiled back.

They stared at each other for what felt like a long time. Then Logan gave himself a little shake and helped her to get comfortable.

Even drunk, she still had lots of questions to ask. "Why am I drunk and you're not?"

He blinked. He'd had a lot to drink too, but he wasn't in the same condition she was. She knew it. He was in control. She was buzzed enough for that fact to bother her.

"Years of practicing, Ace." he said dryly, after a brief hesitation.

She wanted him to be flying just as high as she was.

"Do you think Colin and Steph made up by now?"

"I really doubt that."

She thought about that for a long time until she realized they were already at the bed. "We're here," she said.

"Yep." His eyes were so vivid, so pretty, so warm and strangely soft.

She liked them so much.

"Tonight was a good night," she told him.

"Not for me." He lifted a hand and used it to gently brush a piece of hair out of her face.

She appreciated the gesture since the hair had been tickling her.

"Thank you for taking me out," she told him as serious as she could make herself at the moment.

He hadn't took her out. He wondered what she really remembered from that night. It wasn't worthy to argue about that still. "You're welcome."

"Okay. I'm going to sleep now. My bed looks so comfortable"

In fact they were in Christopher's bedroom - One of his frat friends - whose wouldn't want to find them like that in his room at all. Hell, he would deal with Christopher later.

"All right." He paused. "Is it all right if I stay here for the night too?"

"Oh." She had to blink several times and take a deep breath before she worked out what he had just asked.

"I think so." She said, pleased she was able to extend such grace. She turned toward him and wound her arms around his neck. "I think we should have a little fun," she said in what was supposed to be a conspiratorial whisper.

Logan's body seemed to get very tense. She noticed it particularly.

"What do you say?" she asked him, rubbing herself against him. She liked how it felt. She liked how he felt. She liked everything about him.

He made a choked sound and took a step back. "I don't think we should be having that kind of fun tonight."

"Why not?" She stuck out her lip to show him she wasn't happy about things.

"Because we agreed to be friends."

She grabbed for him again, sliding her hand down his blue chest to his blue belly and then even lower.

Logan grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from the front of his shorts. "Oh no, you can't do that."

"But I want to—"

"You're way to drunk to want things. We talk about that tomorrow. Why don't you try to sleep a little?" His voice sounded slightly rough, strained.

With a little whimper, she flopped down onto the bed fully dressed. "I don't have my pajamas on."

"You don't have pajamas here."

"But I need to take this off." She got rid of her bra right in front of him.

"Oh shit," Logan muttered, trying not to stare directly at her.

Taking her clothes off should be easy but she was too fuzzy. Those clothes were fuzzy too, so he helped her to take it off.

Quickly.

Because there was a limit to what a man could take.

She got rid of all of her clothes on and stretched out on her bed. "I'm done,"

She stared up at him. The edges of his face and body faded into the dim light of the room. "I'm going to sleep now."

"Good. That sounds like a good plan."

"Are you coming to bed too?"

"Probably. I'll have to take a shower first."

"Oh." She couldn't figure that out, so she let it pass. "Thank you for tonight."

"You're welcome."

"You sure you don't want to do anything else tonight?"

He made another one of those choked sounds. Dodging her once had been tough and sorely tested his self-control. He had to let her sleep. "I do, Ace. Of course I do. But I can't tonight."

"Okay," she said with a sigh, closing her eyes and thinking sleep sounded pretty good. Almost as good as having fun with Logan had sounded.

It was such a shame there was nothing she could say to make him change his mind.

Not even stripping, not even asking him for it directly.

Not even pretending she had no control over what she was saying. She was feeling sick, really. But her mind was far from that much confusion.

That just made her feel that tomorrow morning, the best pill for this physical and moral hangover, would surely be self-love.

* * *

**A/N:** I shouldn't be giving spoilers, but I have to say that I'm planning to write the next chapter 100% from Logan's point of view. Tell me if it's a good idea and what you think of chapter 10. Take care and stay safe!


	11. Chapter 11 - The Morning After

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girs. if I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Guys, let me explain to you how my writing process works:

I write all the dialogues of the chapter in a matter of minutes. Then I write part of the rest in a few days and when the chapter is 95% ready, I get convinced that there is almost nothing else to do and I just take forever to finish ridiculous details.

I wrote this little introduction just to apologize for not updating the story for 2 months. Seriously, I was just too lazy to finish it. I'm sorry!

Let's finish the last plot and give you more insight into Logan's motivations.

Thank you for all the reviews and messages! I'm so happy you are enjoying the story. Please review!

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**CHAPTER 11 – THE MORNING AFTER**

* * *

"Logan," he heard someone from across the room.

"Get your ass out of my bed."

He opened his eyes and saw Christopher, the owner of that bed at his closet, taking a t-shirt off the hanger.

"What time is it?" Logan asked.

"Six. I'm freaking tired. I need to get some sleep so get the hell off my bed."

Noticing Rory wasn't beside him, he bolted up. "Where is she?"

"Who?" The guy sighed. "Shit. Did you screw some girl in my bed?"

Logan got up and raced to the bathroom. She wasn't there.

"Why is everyone always using my room?" Christopher muttered as he walked past him into the bathroom. "There are plenty of other rooms in this house."

"Did you tell her to leave?" Logan asked.

He took his shirt off. "Close the door. I gotta shower."

"Did you see her leave or not?"

He yawned. "Dude, I didn't see any girl. When I got here you were alone. She obviously took off."

"Shit!" Logan raced back to the bed, frantically searching the nightstand to see if she left something behind. But there was nothing there. No clothes. No phone.

Nothing.

That means she really had left.

"Was this one of your groupies?" Christopher asked, coming back in the room to get his phone from his desk.

"No. I don't have groupies."

"Right!" The guy added ironically.

"You sure you didn't see her leaving? Dark hair. Blue eyes. Wearing black leather clothes. Freaking gorgeous."

He looked up from his phone and motioned to his bed. "You didn't do anything kinky, did you? Because if you did, you're washing all my shit."

"There was nothing kinky. We didn't even touch the sheets. Now did you see her or not?"

"No. I already told you, she wasn't here."

"You didn't see her downstairs?"

He shrugged. "There's people down there but I didn't notice who. They're passed out from last night."

Logan raced to the door and said to Christopher, "See ya later."

"Hey, Logan. What about my bed?"

Logan heard him yelling after him. "Get your ass back here and wash this shit!"

Hurrying down to the main level, Logan couldn't care less about Christopher's stuff. All vomit had left with Robert's shirt and he hadn't done anything with Rory. Sadly. Not that he would wash if he did. Of course.

Now he had more important things to worry about. Such as how the hell Rory got home alone. She was way too boozed up to have sobered up in just two hours. Something serious could have happened to her.

He searched for her in the living room but all he could find were bodies passed out from last night. Some on the sofa. Some on the floor.

But no Rory.

Next he went to the kitchen. Finn was there, his head in the fridge, reaching to get something.

"Finn," Logan said, trying to get his attention.

His voice startled Finn and he bumped his head on the fridge as he stood up.

"Shit." He shut the fridge door while rubbing the back of his head. "What the hell? Can't you knock or something?"

"Knock?" Logan frowned. "Don't you realize... Forget it, we don't have time for that." Logan took a little breath. "Did you see Rory leaving here this morning?"

"Nope. I just woke up. I passed out on the pool table last night. My back's killing me." He cringed as he tried to straighten his back.

"I gotta go. I'll see ya later." He headed for the door, then he remembered something. "Weren't you supposed to take Stephanie home last night?"

"Who?"

Forget it. That was a basket case.

"Never mind." Logan rolled his eyes and made a mental note do check on Stephanie too. He figured Rory's first option wouldn't be her dorm. Where'd she go if she were trying to hide from everybody else?

* * *

Logan walked around the campus looking for her. In the coffee cart, in the library, in the cafeteria.

No signs of Rory.

He tried once more to reach her on her phone, only for his hear to plummet to find it was turned off.

He decided to sit and wait under her favorite tree, hoping that any signs of approaching steps were hers.

But he waited for hours and she didn't come.

His second stop was at the place he most certainly didn't want to go.

Feeling like a convicted man locked in the colosseum, he knocked on the door and waited until the lion to come out.

"Ah, you..." Said the blonde girl, clearly annoyed by his presence. Great, he loved to make a good impression.

"And you..." Logan mocked, using the same tone she had used before.

It certainly didn't help much, as her face went harder and her eyes turned to stone. "What are you doing here, pretty boy?"

He felt a certain disdain for the way she said the word pretty. It vaguely offended him.

"Is Rory here?" Logan asked, trying to take a peek inside the room, but Paris didn't move. Instead, she just crossed her arms in front of her chest, still standing purposefully in the doorway and blocking his way.

"So she's not with you and your gang of filthy privileged morons wasting breathable air to oxygenate your empty brains?"

"No, it's Sunday. We use that day to apologize to the trees."

He underestimated how angry she could actually get. And who the hell was this guy to come here and talk to her like that?

Paris wanted to slap his smug smiling face. "Did you know Rory had a future before you showed up? In fact, she was the only one who could stand up to me in academic competition. And modesty aside, this is pretty huge."

"And did you know Rory can chug beer faster than anyone else from a beer bong as we sing the full national anthem?"

Logan could barely contain his mocking smile when he anticipated the urge to use his arms to shove the door open before she could slam it right in his face. "Look, Paris. We don't have to do that. You don't like me; I'm not a fan of you either, so if you just tell me where Rory is, I'll be on my way."

She snorted really loudly, like she couldn't believe she was still holding that conversation. "I don't know where she is. Rory is never home anymore. She barely talks to me either. If you did something bad and she's avoiding you, good."

"Can I at least wait here until she arrives then?"

Well, now it was her time to wear that smug expression. "Don't the front steps look comfortable enough? No way am I going to invite you to cross this threshold!."

Without further ado, Paris smashed the door so hard in his face that Logan could actually feel his eardrums reverberating for a full ten seconds after that.

"Don't the front steps look comfortable enough?" Logan said, his voice coming out a high falsetto, mimicking Paris.

That woman is horrible. No wonder Rory can't handle stay at home anymore. Funny thing. She apparently couldn't stay with him either.

Did that mean he was as high maintenance as Paris?

No way.

And if she thinks he would wait sitting on that step, she got him wrong. These pants were Armani, for God's sake.

* * *

Two hours later, Logan was still sitting on the front steps waiting for Rory.

Before giving up, he thought of one more place. Yes, he owed Steph a visit. Although he knew she could take care of herself, he should have known that Finn wouldn't be able to handle the job. Plus, Stephanie was a great cook. And that was a very strong argument for his stomach at three in the afternoon.

"Did I smell meatballs?"

"Why am I not surprised that you would show up at my door at lunchtime?"

"Actually, I came here to check out on you. I saw Finn this morning and figured out you came home alone."

She narrowed her eyes as if considering whether to believe him or not. "And this is the only reason you came here?"

"I also have a thing for your sauce." He flashed his trademark smile. She lifted a brow. He knew charming his way in would never work out on her. And that meant he would have to do the dishes.

"Fine, you can come in, but you get to be the one to drop me off home next time."

"Done," He walked into her dorm and moved along the kitchen, sitting down on the stool.

She served the meatballs in tomato sauce over rice. Heaven.

Stephanie was still nursing her own plate as she witnessed him shoveling the food into his face as if it was the last meal he would ever have.

When he finished, not a crumb seemed to out of place. Nothing was out of place except for his head.

"So, did you hear from Rory?" Logan asked, trying to sound breezy, but in fact, Rory was suddenly all he could think about.

Steph laid down her fork on her plate, checked her watch and sneered. "Ten minutes."

"Excuse me?"

"That's how long you lasted without asking me what you really came here to know."

"You really don't believe your food hits home, huh?"

She held a grin. "Relax, Logan. I've heard Rory didn't sleep with Robert if that's what you're worried about."

"I know, she slept with me."

Now she dropped her fork, her eyes going big, her mouth dropping open. "Oh my God, what did you do? Wait, did you two sleep at Christopher's bed? He makes you wash his sheets."

"I meant, she slept next to me. That's it. Nothing else happened. And how do you know about the sheets?"

She quickly diverted her eyes. "I've heard about it."

"I'll pretend I believe that."

"You really should. Nobody likes to go hungry after such a hangover. Or ironing a king sized bedding."

"What?" Logan narrowed his eyes, but she just ran off the topic. "Never mind. Tell me what happened last night."

Another glass of water and he used the napkin to dab away the sweat of discomfort. No. The sweat of embarrassment to discuss his allegedly feelings like that.

He glanced at her once more, just to make sure if she was still interested in the topic, but it didn't look she was about to back down.

It was a long shot anyway.

"I got back to the dorm and Robert had just left her alone sick with all the booze he had given to her."

She snorted. "Idiot."

"I know. Then I helped her change into some comfortable clothes and put her to bed."

Stephanie nodded at him to go on, as if she couldn't believe the story was over just like that, so bleakly, hopelessly, finished. No happy ending. Literally.

She was starved for a better ending, but sadly he couldn't give it to her. "That's it. When I woke up this morning, she was gone."

She nodded in understanding. "Well, I gotta say I'm a little relieved."

Logan cocked his head. "How?"

"Rory sounded a little depressed when I last spoked to her, so I'm glad nothing really happened between you two, otherwise I'd start to believe you're losing your touch." She joked, with a slight grin on her lips, but he couldn't find what was so amusing.

"Haha." He faked a short laughter, but in just a matter of a second he transformed into one of his usual snarky remarks. "I get it... This is funny, you're funny girl, Steph. This is like humor… but a little different."

"Someone is cranky today. I know you're upset, but you didn't have to act like a bitch."

"You call me a bitch, but I can't see how this is a bad thing."

He walked to the sink, washed all the dishes and remained standing still, just staring at the empty space. He ran a hand over his hair, then he put both hands in his pockets. Then he took them out.

Then he did it all over again.

"You wanna see her so badly, don't you?" Steph asked.

"I have to apologize to her. About this whole Robert thing, this is my entire fault."

Steph nodded in agreement. He had a point. "So you're a lucky bastard then, because Rory is here."

He turned to her, slowly, like he was working things out in his head. "What?"

"She's resting on my bed."

"Can I talk to her?"

"Don't you wanna give her some space?"

"Come on, Steph. I just cleaned your whole sink." He whined in a plea, so she rolled her eyes. She knew he was too desperate to let it go.

"Fine" She gave in, in a mock annoyed tone "But if you do something on my sheets, then you gonna have to wash it." She warned him, pointing a finger.

He held a grin. "Okay."

"And you're going to help me to get even with Finn for ditching me last night."

"What does this have to do?"

"Nothing, I just worship the chaos."

"Okay, count me in." Logan barely listened to what she had said. He just kept staring at the door as if it were the entrance to purgatory, and he wasn't sure if he would go to heaven or hell.

Stephanie was impressed by how Logan was willing to do anything in order to get to Rory. He must really be smitten by this girl. Damn, maybe she learned a new trick. What else would he do?

Before she could say anything, Logan interjected. "Don't even start".

Yeah, he knew Steph too well. Like he knew the back of his hand. And that meant he would be soon eating out of the palm of _her_ hand.

Ten minutes later Logan finally entered the room and found Rory curled up in bed, her eyes drooping tiredly as if her mind was trying to forget about her problems.

Still, her sleep seemed peaceful, so peaceful he almost felt like he shouldn't be waking her up.

He touched the doorknob and bowed his head in reflection, ready to withdraw when he heard her saying.

"Hey..."

His heart raced, half scared, half excited. Okay, eighty percent scared. Then he turned to face her, leaned against the door and found her eyes.

"It was so hard for you to wake up with me this morning?"

Rory suppressed a giggle. "It was not."

Her voice was still a little drowsy, but he could tell her eyes were inviting. Maybe it was ok to come a little closer.

"So you don't mind if we do it again?"

With a little grin on her face, she shook her head 'no'.

Slowly, he managed to lay down on bed right next to her. Like if they were picking up from where they left off that morning. "Why did you take off?"

She adjusted herself on the bed, leaned back on her elbows, staring at him and watching as he gazed back at her. "I was embarrassed."

"Of what?"

She couldn't tell him the whole truth without admitting how attracted she was to him. This would likely lead to further rejection. Which would bring more frustration. That would bring more anguish. And finally more shame.

She knew telling the truth would be the best thing to do. And that was her cue. But what could happen there? She could lose her new friends.

Finally she felt accepted by a group of friends. And they were his friends first, if things got weird between them, she could lose them too. Which hardly seemed so bad compared to the idea of losing him.

She decided to play safe. "My behavior, I don't like myself when I'm drunk."

He just kept quiet, listening to her intently. She kept going. "You were right. I should never have gone out with Robert like that. You were trying to protect me, I get that know."

Yeah. Her speech made him look good. Like if he was a real honorable man. Well, he wanted to protect her too, but that wasn't the entire truth. In reality, Logan desperately needed Robert not to get his creepy hands on her. He didn't like admitting it to himself, but she deserved to hear the whole story.

"If I'm being honest, I wanted to protect you too, but there was something else."

Her eyes got a little bigger, like if drowsiness had given way to anticipation. "What?"

He didn't think twice, otherwise he'd give up on doing the right thing. "You were also right. I've been avoiding you last week because I was also ashamed."

"I don't understand."

He would explain. "That night at poker game, Robert was trying to get back at me about something I did a long time ago."

She nodded, asking him to go on.

"When we were sixteen, I took a girl to the prom, and Robert liked her. I knew how he felt about her, she had no clue and still I asked her out."

"That was it? You two were sixteen, a million years ago."

"Thanks for that."

Rory shook it off. "You know what I mean, why is he still upset about that? It was a long time ago."

"Because I never liked Robert. I guess seeing him with you like that just gave me a reason to keep on hating him."

"So why you two are friends?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes we have to put up with stuff we don't like."

She frowned. "No, we don't."

"Okay, so maybe that's me training for the future, but the truth is Colin brought him to our group, but we were never really friends outside the gang. And now he wanted to hurt me by going out with you."

"Why would that hurt you?"

"Because I care about you, Rory. And seeing you going out with some guy, I mean not just some guy... Robert. It really pissed me off."

Logan sighed. This being honest thing was kind of hard.

"And it also pisses me off that deep down I know I deserved that. Dating a girl knowing it might hurt someone is wrong and I learned the hard way, but the point is that none of this is your fault. I don't want you to get involved in any more of my crap."

Rory was blinking fast, clearly trying to deal with the fact that Logan Huntzberger was giving her an apology and opening himself to her. That was really happening. And apparently he had more to say.

"I also wanted to tell you this is not going to happen again. I know I don't have any right to be jealous of you, and I promise you I'm not gonna let that stuff get in the way of our friendship."

She was speechless for a full minute, yet the full impact of what she had just heard did not fully register in her mind. "You are full of surprises, Logan."

His mouth kicked up in the faintest of smiles. "Why?"

"I really thought you were a jerk when I met you. Well, you kind of were and sometimes you tell me stories of your past that makes my brain's better judgement department, sound alarms…"

..." She paused for a second. "But..."

It was almost cute to watch him letting that breath he'd been holding up as he finally heard that magic word.

Thank God there was a 'but'.

She offered him a smile. "But sometimes you can also be very sweet. And I didn't thank you yet for taking care of me."

He couldn't do otherwise than smile back. "It was my pleasure, Ace."

She deflected her eyes only slightly, not wanting him to notice how thrilled she was to be having that moment with him.

"I'm sorry you had to see me throwing up. That was not a nice picture."

"Well, Ace. If you think that was a bad picture, I haven't told you enough stories of my past yet."

They giggled together, biting their lips.

"But still, thank you. And I know I did inappropriate things we agreed not to do", Rory admitted, but Logan didn't seem to mind.

"We agreed on not to talk about _that_ and also not to do _that_. We didn't say anything about you feeling me up a little."

"Ohhh!" She hid her face in the pillow as one particularly graphic scene flashed across her memories. "Please, stop it. I'm so ashamed of that. I'm sorry again."

"It's okay"

"And I'm also sorry for asking you to have sex with me. This is also not going to happen again."

"It's better not."

She narrowed her eyes. "Would it be that awful?"

"No, this time I might take it. So you better only say that if you're sure about it."

She snorted, shaking her head. But she couldn't hold a little grin. "You were being a gentleman so far."

"I am a gentleman."

She gave him a look, like she didn't believe him. They stared at each other for ten heartbeats before he broke the moment. "Nice breasts last night, by the way."

"That's it." She gave a nervous laugh, and then playfully pushed him off the bed. "Now staying in bed with you is a little too much."

On the cold floor and sprawling, exhausted, Logan grinned like a school boy on the first day of summer vacation.

He looked up and suddenly saw a face in front of his eyes. It seemed to be hovering over him, the most beautiful shadow he had ever seen with long dark hair falling down over the face.

She smiled softly at him and that just reassured him that liking this girl today was easier than yesterday, as each subsequent day created new levels of potential feelings.

He just had to decide if he should do something about it.

Sure, there were risks.

There were people who might get hurt in that way. And he wasn't talk about her.

Or about himself.

He made a deal, but was him ever good at making promises?

* * *

**A/N:** So, I know you guys want more action in this story. That's why the next chapter will be 100% Rory + Logan.

And I think it's going to be HOT. So, please, tell me what you think of this chapter and what you expect to read next. I still have 70% of the chapter ready, so send me tips. I'll try not to take so long to update this time.

For those wondering when we are going to see Jess again, he will appear in the next chapters.

Please review!


	12. Chapter 12 - Au Naturel

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gilmore Girs. if I did, believe me, it would have turned out quite differently.

**A/N: **Guess who didn't take months to update the story?

You asked for action in this story, now you got it. Sometimes building the plot can be boring, but it needs to be done to give the story the right purpose. Now that we got here, we can really have some fun.

Very important chapter ahead. Reviews are appreciated as always.

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**CHAPTER 12 – AU NATUREL**

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"Boys, girls. "Boys and girls. You have been selected as the bravest and fearless young leaders to join me in celebrating another year of my life. And as my birthday wish, we should praise our human nature in the way that God intended. Releasing our inhibitions and giving ourselves body and soul to that moment."

"Finn expresses himself beautifully when he's not drunk". Rory looked genuinely impressed, but Logan just shrugged and said. "Finn's always drunk."

"But it's eleven in the morning."

"Not such a problem to him."

"Huh," She murmured, sounding far from convinced. "We can give him a pass since it's his birthday today."

Logan playfully snorted. "It's not his birthday either, Ace."

"What? So why we are here on the edge of a small waterfall, hanging onto his every world like a cult leader?"

He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "It's just an excuse to get drunk and naked and do stupid things."

Naked? Had she heard that right? It couldn't be. Logan was probably a little confused. With a flicker of hope, she thought. Maybe they'd all swim in their clothes. She could possibly handle that.

And that's when Rory looked around them. Clothes flying everywhere and people jumping from the top of that rock in different flamboyant dives towards the cold, dark water.

Rory swallowed and tried not to look petrified. "Oh" She managed to chirp as cheerily as she could, as if she always frolicked about, swimming naked, with a bunch of people she didn't really know. She didn't have to do it, did she?

"Just jump in" Logan suggested, staring directly at her.

"I can't."

He carefully held her hand. "Do you want me to go first?"

Grabbing his hand, he could feel her grip squeezing, almost crushing his fingers. "Relax, Ace, it'll be fine."

"I don't know..." She was taking really quick short breaths. And before she could tell, she was blabbering irrationally. "I don't really have to do that, right? You know, I ate a big breakfast.. and it's not good... To swim... On a full stomach. Really full." She patted her stomach and hoped she sounded believable, but she knew she wasn't fooling Logan in the slightest.

Logan raised an eyebrow and she knew he could see right through her. "If we find another easier way, would you consider getting in?"

"Maybe... Can't promise you anything."

He nodded at her and told the rest of the gang. "You guys go ahead. We're taking another way."

"Oh, come on." Whined Colin. "Are you going to take her on that children's trail?"

"There isn't another way, guys."

"Wait a minute" Finn interrupted their little dilemma. "I shall not let this happen"

He approached Rory and threw his arm over her shoulders. Like he was about to explain something simple but important to a small child. "You see, Rory. Today is my birthday."

"No, it's not."

"You wound me, darling. This is the meanest thing someone ever said to me, especially on my birthday."

Okay. No point trying to discuss that. She just nodded along.

"So as I was saying, today is my birthday. And we are here to celebrate life and love. And I'm asking you to do it today. You see, Rory. I'm a professional lover. And I want you to experience that."

"So you're telling me you're a hooker?"

Finn frowned. "No..."

"But you said you were a professional."

He took a big breath. "I was wrong before. This is the meanest thing someone ever said to me. Logan, take her through the easier way."

Finn clapped Logan on the back, sending him stumbling forward. Rory breathed a little sigh of relief but of relief, but her stomach still was clenching.

"Man, girls always get away with stuff." Said Colin. "If that was me, you guys would be pushing me down the cliff. "

"Yeah, our lives are so easy." Stephanie interjected. "An opportunity not to jump off a cliff makes up for centuries of suffering." Steph gave Colin a disdainful look and then turned to Rory. "You are really not getting in?"

"Sorry, guys."

"Chicken." Stephanie joked while she unceremoniously removed her shirt. She didn't seem to care about all the eyes turning to her, as if it wasn't the first time they were doing this. Weird. This was certainly not a tradition Rory would like to be joining in.

* * *

Rory and Logan were walking down a little gravel dirt trail.

Not that she was counting the minutes to finally get there, but she didn't know this would be an excruciating procession to a destination of nudity and lust that she wasn't even sure she wanted to reach.

She certainly didn't like that gasping feeling in her chest. Was that how exercising felt like?

And, if she was going to be honest, this trail also seemed a little creepy. Like something you see in those teen movies that a psycho attacks the group camping in the forest.

"How much longer are we gonna be walking for?"

"Easy. We're almost there."

Right. Rory really felt stupid for believing that fifteen minutes ago. She wasn't about to fall for that again.

But it turned out that this time it seemed to be true.

They found a lake of fresh water, which raised her spirits a little, cause that didn't sound that scary.

"Come here." Logan said, motioning so she could follow him. "I have a surprise for you."

"Like a 'fun surprise' or an 'I'm going to murder you in the middle of the woods and dump your body at a truck stop' surprise?"

Logan burst out laughing. "I'd never drop your body at a truck stop. I drive cars. "

He joked and she smiled. Maybe for the last time today. Because surely death didn't look so bad now that they were about to do God knows what alone.

They moved further into the woods and reached the edge of the lake.

There was a wooden deck, peacefully hidden. She looked up at a beautiful sky colored blue where the clouds were running gently through the wind.

Rory could swear Logan was standing right next to her just a few seconds earlier, but in the next glance he was standing two steps next to the dock, squatting down and resting his hand on his thigh. He just looked at her and enjoyed the view.

She knew what he meant.

Rory looked down at him and laughed. "I'm not going in."

"Why not?"

She didn't give him a reason. "It's just not gonna happen."

"Rory, I'm not suggesting we go skinny-dipping. Though I'm game if you are."

Her lips curved in spite of herself. "In your dreams," she said.

"Chicken."

He was the second person to have called her that in less than an hour, and she discovered she didn't like it. But she also wouldn't fall for one of his mind games. "The chicken thing won't work on me."

"Come on, Rory. It's not a big deal. I've seen you naked before."

A flash of heat bolted through her. "Not under bright light, you haven't."

He rose his eyebrows suggestively. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I have like a couple dozen of people I had never seen in my entire life to be ashamed of."

"You have not. We're alone, the lake is hidden from the trail and nobody will see us. Our friends probably already forgot about us by now. And you don't have to be naked if you don't want to."

She didn't buy it. "Did you bring a suit? I sure haven't."

"You can swim on your underwear."

"Sorry, I'm just not that type of person."

"You're not the type of person who wears underwear?" Even though he knew he shouldn't have said that, he liked the pretty pink hue that appeared in her cheeks.

"Sorry." He said. "I shouldn't be teasing you like this"

Teasing, huh? Rory eyed him suspiciously. She knew if she had agreed to swimming in her underwear, he probably would have done his level best to get her to swim on nothing. His apology was phony as a three dollar bill.

Regardless, that image of the two of them naked in the lake was disturbingly exciting. She still couldn't just say 'yes'.

"Ok then." Logan sighed deeply and started to remove his clothes. In one movement he pulled the shirt off over his head and stood there, in nothing but his pants, which sat low on his hips.

"What you're doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting in." He replied, nonchalantly, keeping his eyes on her.

He stared at her for a moment, and she stared back. But not at his face. Then the gleam returned to her eyes, shyly but it was something.

She was breathless and he could see she was embarrassed by it but there was nothing to be embarrassed about. "Relax, Ace. This is not going to be like the last time you saw me doing that."

"I know..." she made some sort of response. It came out as a kind of husky gurgle. She couldn't drag her eyes away from him, so she stared at the floor. Her feet. That tiny little ant walking over the next rock.

Anything that could drag her out of this lame pitiful thirsty moment.

A lazy smile danced across his face. "I'll leave on my shorts if it'll make you feel better."

"That's a good decision."

Two seconds later, he was diving into the 's powerful body cut through it as he swam to the far side of the lake.

The woods were quiet except for the occasional buzz of a mosquito. Rory swatted at it and untied her shoes laces, then waited for her pounding heart to still.

She'd been so tempted.

She pulled off her sneakers, socks, shorts and tank top, leaving them in a neat pile. Wearing only a pair of cotton panties and a blue jog bra, she walked down to the lake to wade slowly away from the shore. The water was freezing, and the pebbles on the lake bottom dug into her feet.

"It's easier if you just dive in." He swam closer.

"I don't think I can." Rory inched forward. "I'm not usually one to jump in with both feet."

Logan reached out and caught her hand. "Then I'll help." With a quick tug, he pulled her into the water next to him.

"Oh, my God, it's so cold." Her teeth chattered and she moved back closer to the lake's bank.

"Right now, that's working in your favor. I'm not the man I was before my swim."

She grinned. "I don't think I can stay here for so long, I'm turning blue."

"A little exercise will warm you up. Let's race." He suggested, but she wasn't thrilled about the idea.

She took another couple of steps and eventually, the water covered her knees and gushed icily down over her waist. Still, she went a few steps further, stopping when the water reached to just above her belly. "Logan, I can't swim. I've never learned properly before."

"What? Why?"

"Because the butler couldn't get the water warm enough. Wake up, Logan. Not everyone grows up with a pool."

"But the Gilmores have a pool." It took her a moment to register that he was referring to her grandparents. "When have you ever been to my grandparent's house?"

"Well, they throw great parties"

He smiled nonchalantly and she couldn't believe that. "Why did you conveniently waited until now to tell me that?"

"Never thought it was important."

"Not important? That's it. I'm out. Can't trust your judgment anymore." She joked, turning away and threatening to leave the lake, but he quickly reached over and held her in his arms, challenging her to move further into the lake with him.

She held his hand and let him guide her slowly, until the water was already so high she realized she couldn't reach the bottom anymore.

"I'm drowning!" Rory flapped her arms, splashing water everywhere. It was funny as hell but she'd kill him if he laughed.

She wasn't really drowning. She just thought she was cause she was still terrified to go in the deep end.

"Here, hold me." He offered her to wrap her arms around his neck and she held onto it for dear life.

"You're fine," He said soothingly as her legs brushed against his in the water and she quickly pulled them away.

"I am NOT fine," she said, her body bobbing up and down as she searched for the bottom of the lake. "I almost died!"

"Not even close."

She looked around to make sure he wasn't lying, then slowly started to relax, suddenly too aware how their bodies were touching. Chest to chest, hip to hip. Almost mouth to mouth.

As he was holding her like that, the water was coming up to just below her breasts. His eyes immediately jump down to them, but he was only looking at them because they were right there, sitting on top of the water like they were on display. There was no other reason.

Or at least that was what he told himself while he started to react in a way he shouldn't. And if he could feel it, she surely could too.

"Logan, friends remember?"

"I gave you my word, Rory. You can't control my eyes."

"A lot of things seem to be out of control here."

"Maybe I should let you drown, just to teach you a little humility."

She laughed. "You can't teach something you don't have."

"I've taught you already so much, but whatever."

"Really? Like what?"

"Like exactly what we're doing here."

She noticed how his eyes would follow her tongue when she spoke. "You stare at me like this, but tell me we are just friends."

"Reading people beyond what they say is an important social skill, Ace."

"So you're saying you're trying to confuse me on purpose."

"No, there's no reason to be confused here, but I bet you're wondering if I'm coming on to you right now. If you're reading the signs right and what to do if I say that 'I am' , and all that shit right?"

Rory laughed out loud." Look, Logan. I know you think I should be less insecure about that, but I'm don't have your dating skills."

"For the sake of the argument why not?"

"Because I know I always pick the wrong guys. Guys who doesn't like me, guys who stand me up, guys who are married, guys who ditch on me, guys overly jealous..."

"Sounds like a lot of guys."

He could tell she was trying to keep her voice neutral, but it was audibly uneven. "They are actually the same guys. I'm just pointing their many flaws"

"Am I one of these guys?"

"No, you're the one that keep teasing me and staring at me like if you were the wolf and I'm Little Red Riding Hood, but never do anything about it. That's the worst kind."

"Do you want me to do something about it?" He whispered and she had the answer on the tip of her tongue. "Once you told me that if I _had_ to ask, you were probably not doing right."

He just nodded and closed the space between them, cupping her face in his palm. "You're definitely doing right."

He kissed her, hungrily. It wasn't a tentative kind of kiss, his hand at the back of her head, pressing her against him. It was a kiss that proved something. Proved that he was into her, as much as she was into him. So she encouraged him to keep going, sucking in a breath at the feel of his hot demanding mouth, she wrapped both of her legs high around his waist and squeezed him tight, over and over again.

"Move like that again, and I'm going to disgrace myself."

"The effect of the cold water appears to have worn off." She stared down into the depths of his compelling eyes.

"Holding you like that would make a monk horny. You're beautiful, Rory."

She leaned down and touched her lips to his. "So are you." Their tongues mated and explored as the kiss went on and on.

Logan knew he couldn't keep doing that any longer. He had been exercising his self-control for a long time and now he was tempted to throw it all to the wind. "Rory, what we're doing is wrong." he said earnestly "Just plain wrong."

She knew what he was talking about. "I know. But why doesn't it feel wrong?" she cried.

He pecked her lips lightly. "I know. For what's it's worth, this is driving me crazy."

"This friendship deal is bullshit, isn't it? "

"I'm not gonna lie to you. I don't think of you as a friend. Hell, I've been having X-rated thoughts about you since the day we've met, but I don't wanna hurt you."

She softened in response to his honesty and vulnerability. "I get you, and to me this is more than attraction. I genuinely like you and you seem to be so sure you are going to hurt me."

"I'm not a nice guy, Rory. I know I've been treating you like if I were, but if we cross that line again, I won't be able to turn it off. And I can't give you what you really want."

"I know you can't. And I don't know if I can indulge in a quick fling without winding up with a broken heart. So I should keep looking for what really works for me."

"I get it. I would never push you."

"I know. It wasn't you I didn't trust."

They stared at each other's eyes for a long time, without saying a word. They just stared at each other.

This wasn't supposed to be that hard, but now they needed to find a middle ground.

"I guess we have no choice other than trying to make as friends." Logan pointed out. "New rule number one: No more getting almost naked when we're alone."

She nodded along. "Okay. If you can do it with Steph, you can do it with me."

"Yeah, but Steph isn't a girl. Not to me, at least." He joked and smiled, the skin at the corners of his eyes crinkling adorably.

His eyes were so captivating, and his lips were so...inviting. She could feel something pulling her towards him. He didn't miss that, so he made a new suggestion.

"New rule number two: Kissing is okay today, but not the soul sucking kind that makes me forget rule number one."

She smiled and touched their lips together as he had before. Then she slanted her mouth and took his as she wanted to. Over and over again.

Yeah, he offered her a way out, but if they kept doing that he didn't know how long he could keep his word.

"Rory..." he whispered huskily at her soft mouth and then with his lips pressed in the crook of her neck.  
"We can leave now, or we can stay. Your call."

She met his direct gaze. "This is tempting, but I don't want to be a tease. If we stay, I don't think we should take this to another level. It isn't fair to give you that and then ask you to stop."

His finger ran along her cheekbone. "Fair enough. We should go then."

He helped her to swim back and hop onto the deck, then he stood by her side, water running off him in streams.

"Well, since I got back to the deck first, it looks like I won the race."

"What?"

She folded her arms defiantly.  
"You've heard me, Huntzberger. I said I didn't know how to swim, not that I hadn't accepted your challenge."

"Okay, cheater. What's your prize?"

She took a big breath and glanced up, blinking fat droplets off her lashes. "I get to dry off on your shirt."

He grabbed his shirt, but instead of handing it to her, he ran the soft cotton over her back and down her legs. "How's that?"

"Nice." She closed her eyes, afraid to see the expression in his. Afraid the temptation to let him do more would destroy her control.

"Turn over." The words were a whisper in her ear. When she did, he dried her arms and bare stomach. "Look at me, Ace."

Slowly, she lifted her lids and listened to him. "I want a rematch."

His finger ran along her ribcage and pulled her closer to kiss her lips. "And this is a preview of my prize."

She felt an adrenaline rush through her veins as she wanted to burrow deeper into his embrace. It took all her willpower not to take back everything she had said before and let him have all the trophies he wanted.

He smiled at her and handed over her clothes. "You'd better get dressed before I forget the new rule number one."

She threw back her head and laughed. "And what happened with new rule number two?"

He shrugged. "They don't go into effect until we're back on the trail."

"Hm..." She bit her lips, dimmed her eyes, as she was conscious of his eyes on hers. "So I think we still have a few minutes left."

He cupped her head and brought her mouth down to meet his.

* * *

Rory adjusted the car's rearview mirror as Logan speeded off, the rear wheel spitting gravel behind them.

"Don't you think the others might be wondering why we didn't show up?"

Logan gave her a simpering smirk. "They are smart kids, Rory. I'm sure they will figure out why."

She didn't argue. She just watched as the blur of houses out the car window slowly became a blur of fields, all blending together.

She reached out to the radio, switching it on. She wanted a soundtrack for this.

"You can change the station, if you want," Logan told her. He had his window down, and the wind was blowing his blond hair everywhere.

For a second, she considered reaching out and running her hands through it, but exercised restrain. They had crossed way too many lines today already.

"This is fine," she told him, turning back toward the window, when she realized something was pinching her on the car's leather seat.

She rubbed the passenger seat, retrieving a tiny shiny object. She looked closely at the newly found earrings. They were beautiful, but intimidating.

"What is it?" Logan asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"I wonder what kind of girl you give rides to that loses a diamond earring and doesn't bother looking for them."

The corner of Logan's mouth kicked up in a grin. He knew what she meant. Knew what she was thinking. But the truth was, he had no idea of whose jewel that was. As far as he was concerned, it could be anyone's. He had a long list for that. "Maybe it's my sister's"

Rory narrowed her eyes at him, skeptically. Then she reached into her front pocket, bringing a small tube of lip gloss. She flipped down the front visor so she could use the mirror.

Logan watched as she applied the gloss — some raspberry flavor, judging by the smell of it. She pursed her lips once before leaning up and pressing her lips to the mirror. She pulled back, revealing a single perfect kiss mark.

"What is this all about?"

She grinned. "I marked my territory, see?"

Damn. Rory definitely knew how to play the game.

His eyes lingered on the kiss mark. "And that sends people a message?"

She nodded, slipping the lip gloss back into her pocket. "Yeah. And now everybody will know that."

He had to admit, the sight of her kissing that mirror made his heart hammer. It was sexy as hell.

For one, he had done a lot more than kiss other girls in that car. And yet none of them had gotten his heart going like Rory and that mirror had.

Maybe it was because, in the back of his mind, he knew that this was the start of something bigger than those other things.

That kiss mark wasn't a hasty hookup in the backseat of a car; it was precise—it was planned. It was, well, kinda permanent. Many people would pass in and out of that car, but that lip print would stay.

Rory would stay.

He wanted her to stay.

That's why he dropped her safely at her dorm, as always, and headed somewhere else.

Maybe he wasn't a boyfriend material after all, but that could change. He was capable of changing. There was just one more thing in the way.

So he man up, got out of the car and rang the bell, before he could chicken out.

The door opened in front of him and his friend welcomed him in, offering him a pleasant smile. He looked happy, and Logan couldn't believe he was about to screw this up.

With no time to make small talk, Logan just looked into Jess's eyes and confessed. "I slept with Rory."

* * *

**A/N:** I don't accept less than many comments on this chapter. You know that I am in need of attention. :)

Also, I'd like to ask if you guys still prefer updates on Friday or if we should switch to Monday. This is still a democracy, so I will consider the majority opinion.


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